


Winter In Paris 2.N0 Smut

by OnAStormieNight



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 19:31:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14837820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnAStormieNight/pseuds/OnAStormieNight
Summary: Yuna's life had been a bag of feral cats ever since that fateful night. So why was The Winter Soldier back in Paris?





	Winter In Paris 2.N0 Smut

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to rewrite this fiction void of all smut scenes and changed it from first person to third person point of view with an original character.

"Hey, Yuna! Wait up!" Kai called out, running up behind a short blonde girl.  
She stopped walking along the cobblestone path and waited for her best friend to join her.  
"How was class?" He asked as the two of them continued on to the busy Paris street.  
"The one I'm failing? It's just peachy." Yuna replied sarcastically.  
It was the end of her first week at ESMOD (the international fashion design school she had dreamed of attending since she was 9) and she had never felt so tired in her entire life.  
"Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee and you can tell me all about it." He said, placing his hand on her back and guided her to the nearest cafe.  
  
Somewhere in a hidden hydra base:  
"Understood, soldier?"  
"Yes, sir."  
  
The sun was setting as Yuna walked down Rue Vivienne to her apartment, an eerie chill descended down the middle of her back and goosebumps crept up her arms. She looked around but there was no one around that she could see between the two buildings she was sandwiched in. She quickened her pace and ran up the steps to her apartment building.  
She slammed the door closed and leaned her head against it as she turned the deadbolt.  
"Hello, Yuna."  
The sound of her father's voice made her jump.  
She turned around and saw that there were two men sitting on her sofa.  
"Hello, daddy!" She said with a smile.  
Yuna ran up to her father as he stood from the sofa to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek.  
He pulled away, and gestured toward the second man in her apartment, "This young man is going to be your body guard for a few days."  
"Oh, Daddy! Not again." She complained.  
Yuna hated it when her father's business deals fell through. It always made her life so complicated, but she couldn't change being the daughter of a criminal overlord.  
"You'll be fine, button. It's just a precaution this time." He looked down at her with a not so reassuring smile on his face.  
He turned to the dark haired body guard, "You go wherever she goes, do whatever she wants you to. If I hear so much as a peep of disappointment from her," he lifted a finger to his neck and made a slicing motion across it.  
"Understood, sir." he responded, standing up.  
  
Once her father left, Yuna turned to face her new body guard.  
He was tall, with short spiky chocolate colored hair, sapphire blue eyes, and he was clean shaven. He wore a black long sleeve shirt, that hugged every muscle it covered. She kept looking down his body until something silver caught her eye.  
She walked over to him and glided her fingers down his forearm and placed her palm against his. She lightly pulled up his hand; it was made completely out of metal.  
He looked down at her, curious to what she would say.  
"I was expecting it to be cold." She said softly, looking up at him with a sincere smile.  
"Yours are though," he smirked.  
Yuna giggled in embarrassment and pull her hand away from his. "I'm sorry," she said as she rubbed her hands together. "I rushed out the door this morning without a hoodie, a pencil and my pager. I don't even know where that damn thing is," she said looking around her messy living room.  
"You're not what I expected as a member of a family so -"  
"Wealthy?" Yuna finished, as she bent over to tidy up her coffee table and gestured for him to sit back down.  
"Yes."  
Yuna dropped her chin and looked down at the floor. She made a point to not look like she came from money. She purposefully wore baggy jeans or sports pants, tight t-shirts or tank tops, or hoodies paired with denim shorts, so people wouldn't ask her about her family or her life. She wasn't very good at lying and having to keep her family's secrets was incredibly hard for her.  
"I just realized, I forgot to ask you for your name." Yuna said standing up straight to put her stack of magazines on the bookshelf.  
"Kit."  
"Is that short for Kitty?" she teased. She looked over at him to see that he had almost laughed.  
He sat forward and clasped his hands in front of himself, never taking his eyes off her.  
Yuna turned to face him. By the Gods, this man is cute, She thought as she kicked off her shoes.  
He continued to look at her, licking his lips before parting them ever so slightly.  
She walked around the table and stood between his knees biting her bottom lip as she looked down at him, "You're willing to do anything I want, correct?"  
He looked from her eyes to her lips and simply nodded.  
"Good," she noted before she pushed him back against the sofa and straddled him.  
She looked at him for a brief moment then slowly lowered her lips onto his. A rush of bliss blanketed over her; His lips tasted sinfully delicious to her.  
As they began to make out, Kit placed one hand behind her head, tangling his fingers in her hair while the other sneaked its way up the outside of her thigh.  
Yuna pulled away just a little to catch her breath and looked into his eyes again.  
He crept his left hand up under the back of her shirt and ran a single finger down her spine.  
She exhaled loudly and shivered from the odd sensation of warm metal on her skin.  
Kit laughed at her reaction and softly kissed her nose, "I'm sorry."  
"That was just really weird. Not sure if I never want you to do that again or to never stop." She softly laughed.  
He gently rubbed a metal finger on the small of her back and watched her eyes close as her head titled to one side.  
"You're here to kill me, aren't you?" She asked not opening her eyes.  
He stopped gliding his finger along her skin and furrowed his brow.  
She opened her eyes, "It's alright. I know I'm a liability."  
  
Kit stayed quiet as she moved from his lap to the spot next to him on the sofa. He wrapped his one arm around her waist, the other around her chest. "How would like me to do it?" he asked softly into her ear.  
She stared out the double doors that led to her balcony. "I want you to stop my heart. Put your hand through my chest. Feel my heart thump between your fingers and not let go until you feel its last beat."  
He lowered his hand and rest it over her chest.  
"Wait. I want to see the moon rise over the Eiffel Tower, once last time."  
He let go of her, following her with his gaze as she walked into the bedroom.  
She brushed her hair, and fixed up her make up. She walked to her closet and changed into her favourite pair of baggy jeans and a black low cut tank top.  
"Since I'm dying soon ..." Yuna looked over her shoulder to the hottie leaning against the door jamb.  
"Winter Soldier."  
"Wow, Hydra really wants me dead if they thawed you out just to kill me."  
He crossed his arms and stayed quiet as she looked herself over in the mirror.  
She nodded her head as she came to the realization that she wasn't the only one on the list. It was almost kind of them killing her first. The heartache of finding out someone you cared for has died is a heavy emotion to feel and, at least in her mind, they were sparing her from having to deal with that again.  
She walked into the kitchen, followed closely by the Winter Soldier. She prepared a pot of coffee in silence and pulled two mugs from the cupboard.  
"Found it." She said mostly to herself, as she plucked the pager from the inside of her favorite Disney mug. She scrolled through the numbers that had paged her during the day.  
"How do you like your coffee?" She asked not looking up at him.  
He shrugged, "Black is fine."  
The last page Yuna received was fifteen minutes ago. She stared at Kai's number for a minute, then walked over and placed the pager in the microwave.  
She looked over to her future killer's perplexed face, "I always put my belongings in places they shouldn't belong. It makes life fun."  
The winter soldier began to laugh.  
Yuna loved the sound of it and couldn't keep herself from grinning at him.  
She steamed some milk and grabbed a bottle of caramel syrup from the cupboard.  
"One caramel latte for me. One black coffee for you." she announced handing him the hot cup.  
  
Once the two of them were finished with their coffees, Yuna led the Winter Soldier up to the roof.  
The air was cold and gave her the chills. She sat on the ledge and watched the moon rise from the horizon.  
He softly pulled her arm and had her stand in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her just as he did inside her apartment.  
She leaned against his chest, as the moon rose above the Eiffel Tower, into the darkened sky. She continued to look up and attempted to ignore the feeling of his hand slowly descend from her shoulder.  
"UGGHH!" She could feel his metal fingers sink into her skin and the sting of the friction as they tore through her muscles.  
He let her body fall into his right arm as he knelt down to keep her as upright as possible while his left hand broke though her ribs.  
Her brain couldn't process what happened next as felt him maneuver his fingers around her heart.  
Yuna stared up at him as she went into shock. She lifted her arm and caressed the side of his face.  
"Thank you." Her voice was raspy, "Out of all the assassins I have faced, you were the kindest ... I am so lucky ..."  
  
"Lucky ..."  
  
"Lucky ..."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
“Bucky ...”  
  
"Bucky ..."  
  
Bucky shook his head and looked at his best friend.  
"Are you alright?" Steve asked worried.  
Bucky looked back at the girl who was waiting for her drink. "That girl. I know her." He said nodding his toward her.  
Steve glanced over his shoulder.  
At the end of the coffee bar stood a girl with light blonde hair that was pulled up in a messy bun with a pencil peeking out at one side.  
"She's cute. How do you know her?" Steve said smiling at Bucky and picking up his cup.  
"I killed her." Bucky wrapped his fingers around the coffee mug in front of him. "Yuna.”  
Steve's smile instantly disappeared and took a sip of his coffee.  
The barista placed a to go cup on the counter, "Caramel latte for Yuna?"  
Steve whipped around as he and Bucky watched the girl grab the cup and leave the cafe.  
"WHAT?"  
"That's impossible."  
  
Yuna noticed him the moment she walked into the cafe. The hair on her neck stood up and a shiver coursed its way through her entire body. He was sitting with a blond haired man, both in ball caps and jackets with the collars up.  
So cliche' she thought to herself as she walked up to the barista and placed her order.  
She could see in her peripheral vision that he was looking at her now. Him. The one who killed her that cold autumn night so many years ago. The Winter Soldier.  
She walked to the far end of the coffee bar and waited impatiently, hoping that her body language and facial expression was that of someone who didn't notice that the best assassin in the world was in the room.  
Well, almost the best, until that whole United Nations debockle, and whatever that cute Captain America did. She had been told everything, but the nail technician had messed up her nails that day so she had been trying to fix her pointer nail and didn't even listen to the report.  
So why was the Winter Soldier after her again after all this time?  
Surely, Hydra would have known she had been brought back from the dead when she went back to school only after a week of  "being in the hospital". Hell, they should have known the moment she showed up at her father's funeral. Yuna didn't go into hiding, she didn't change her looks, well actually she was platinum blonde now, but she didn't even try to change her name.  
The same name the barista had memorized ... the one she would -  
"Caramel latte for Yuna?"  
Shit  
Well, if he had any doubts that it was actually her, he just got his confirmation.  
She grabbed the piping hot paper cup and rushed out the door.  
  
"Come on." Bucky said to Steve abandoning his coffee and following the blonde girl into the afternoon sun.  
Steve didn't say anything but the look on his face was clear; he was not happy with his best friend. He took a final drink of his coffee and followed them both outside.  
  
Yuna knew he would be able to smell her latte no matter where she went, which is why she chose to walk down a sketchy back alley and hide behind the corner of a building, away from any civilians. Her heart may be a beating piece of living metal but contrary to popular belief, she still actually cared about others.  
She heard the soft thud of his boots with every step he took towards her, while she gently placed her coffee down. But there were only one set of feet walking down the alley. Where did his blond friend go?  
She pulled out a knife from her bag, stood up and sliced it through the air, colliding with the brick wall as he deflected the attack.  
"Yuna, stop." He said trying to disarm her, but she kicked the side of his knee and elbowed him in the face.  
"I'll be damned if I let you kill me again without a fight." She retorted, pulling away and taking a step back from him.  
Ah. Thats where the blond guy went.  
She quickly spun around to punch him but he blocked her fist with both hands. Which gave her the perfect opportunity to stab him in the torso right at the sweet spot next to his ribs. It wouldn't kill him, but it would sure as hell hurt.  
"Steve!" Bucky went to move closer, but then noticed Yuna hadn't pulled the knife from his friend.  
"You've gone soft, Soldier," she spat.  
Steve's face contorted in pain, as she began to twist the blade. He looked down at her.  
She looked up at him in return. He wasn't angry. He wasn't even trying to fight her. He could have broken her arm, wrist or hand to keep her from torturing him, but he stood with one hand on the small of her back, the other under her elbow. There was sadness in those baby blue eyes.  
She looked over her shoulder. The Winter Soldier hadn't moved from his spot. No gun cocked, no blade twirling between his fingers.  
Yuna took a deep breath. Whatever the assassin was planning it wasn't to kill her at the moment. He probably needed her alive for some reason.  
She looked up at the man she stabbed. It wasn't till then that she recognized him: Steve Rogers. Captain America himself. She felt a twinge of guilt and it showed on her face. "I'm sorry. It's going to hurt when I pull the blade out, it's serrated."  
He nodded and took a deep breath as she pulled the blade from his body and applied pressure to the wound with her other hand. Blood gushed between her fingers.  
"Get my bag!" she spat over her shoulder.  
Steve was having difficulty staying on his feet and she helped him down to the ground. "How did you know where to stab?"  
"Pure dumb luck," she said with a smile.  
Bucky knelt down next to her, bag wide open.  
"Pull his shirt up." She barked to Bucky as she grabbed a beat up black container, quickly moved her bloodied hand, and poured the contents into the wound. The powder immediately stopped the bleeding.  
Steve's breathing was coming in short bursts, "This was a bad plan, jerk."  
"You planned out your friend getting stabbed?" Yuna accused pouting as she looked toward Bucky.  
She looked down at Steve, "You need new friends."  
"Are you offering?" He flirted.  
"Maybe." She replied with a wink. Yuna looked down at the mess all over Cap's beautifully chiseled abs. "I don't really know how super soldier's work. Like, you still need stitches to heal from that, right?" She looked at his face, a confused expression on her own.  
"Yeah." He tried to smile, but she could tell he was still in a lot of pain.  
She took her hoodie off and used it to towel off the blood on her hand, before she rummaged through her bag for her travel sewing kit. "This is not ideal, but it'll work." She said pulling a small needle from the kit.  
Bucky moved to sit on the other side of his friend, and watched Yuna.  
"This is going to feel weird, and may not last more than a day." She informed as she threaded the needle with purple silk thread.  
Steve simply nodded.  
"So, what does the Winter Soldier want with me this time?" She asked pinching the wound and pushing the needle though it.  
"I'm not the Winter Soldier. At least not anymore." He answered.  
She raised her eyebrow, showing that she wasn't convinced and bit her lip. Instead of arguing, she focused on mending the tear in Steve's skin.  
It didn't take her very long to finish and covered the stitches with a soft piece of cloth from her hoodie she had torn off and adhered it with two pieces of athletic tape. She shoved her now ripped up hoodie into her bag and everything else she had pulled out of it before standing up.  
Bucky helped Steve to his feet.  
Yuna looked up at Cap, "You good?"  
He placed his hand over the wound and nodded.  
She turned slightly to face her killer. "You're not the Winter Soldier right now. But as soon as someone says your trigger phrase, you become a cold-hearted killer. Is that why you have him?" She she pointed a finger toward Steve.  
"It's not like that." He replied.  
She looked him up and down, and not in that damn-he's-fine kind of way, but the who-does-this-fucker-think-he's-trying-to-fool kind of way. He definitely looked different from the day he killed her. He had long hair now, was growing out a beard and he was unarmed. Literally, his metal arm was completely gone, but the most impressive change was in his eyes. They were warm and sincere, not the cold and lifeless ones that haunted her nightmares.  
He took a step forward but she immediately stepped back and held her arm out to shield herself from him.  
"I'm not going to hurt you, Yuna. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm telling you the truth." He said holding up his hand.  
"You should have started with that instead of having tall, blond and handsome over here sneak up on me," she countered.  
"Okay, that was our bad." Steve said.  
She lowered her arm and stood up straight. "You're both on the run, right?" she inquired.  
Both young men nodded.  
"I'm going to regret this," she said shaking her head, "Need a place to crash?"  
"That would be nice." Steve said.  
"I didn't offer to be nice. I'm doing the public a favor, you both smell horrible." She said with a smirk.  
The two boys laughed a little as she picked up her bag and walked over to grab her latte.  
"Follow me." she said over her shoulder.  
"Are you sure we can trust her?" Steve whispered as he tried to walk normal.  
Bucky looked sideways to his friend, then to the blonde girls back, "I don't know."  
  
Yuna led them through the back alleys and side streets, avoiding every traffic camera and surveillance system along the way.  
"Home, sweet refuge," She announced as all three of them arrived at her luxury apartment.  
"I see some things never change." Bucky said, walking up to the full length window and glancing out to see the Eiffel Tower a few blocks away.  
"Does your boyfriend know about us?" She asked motioning to Steve to sit with her on the sofa.  
"Bucky and I ... we're not ... it's - it's not like that." Steve said with a smile, his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink.  
"Bucky." his name didn't really slip off the tongue. It was like saying a weird word she'd never heard and only read as asdfghjk.  
"Yuna," Bucky said looking at the puzzled expression on her face.  
She looked up at him. Those blue eyes reminded her of her untimely execution and the fun make out session they'd had; the memories going back and forth like a broken flip book.  
She gulped hard, and blinked a few times to rid her mind of the recall. "You need a shower. And new clothes." she stood from the sofa and walked down the hall into one of the bedrooms.  
"She looks exactly like she did when I was assigned to her. " Bucky looked away from the entrance of the hallway to Steve.  
"Exactly?"  
"Well, her hair was a different color, but she hasn't aged a day." He told him.  
"You're right. I haven't aged a day." she said emerging from the hall.  
Bucky looked at her wide eyed.  
"Thin walls," she said with a smirk and winked at Steve. She walked in the living room with two piles of clothes and towels in each hand.  
"Super serum." Steve said.  
"A form there of. I can't heal like the two of you, or have super strength, but my senses are heightened, I have an eidetic memory and suspended aging, to name a few." She divulged.  
Bucky walked over to her, "How?"  
She handed him the pile from her left hand, "Bathroom is down the hall, last door. Shower, then we can talk."  
Bucky disappeared down the hall.  
She sat on the sofa, "Steve Rogers, the great Captain America," she said a bit condescendingly.  
He raised his eyebrow at her, "Not a fan?"  
"I wasn't till now," She flirted.  
He looked over at her and smiled.  
"You finally made a decision for yourself. Not for the good of your country or the world, but for you. You showed the world that you're still human. That you can make mistakes and be selfish. You showed a different side of yourself. I think you dismissed your humanity when you were working alongside gods and failed experiments. You forgot that you weren't chosen to be a super soldier because you were a perfect soldier, but because you were a good man, the one you've always been. Perhaps in finding Bucky, you finally found yourself again." Yuna said.  
He re-positioned himself to look at her better, placed his arm along the back of the sofa, and stared at her for a moment.  
"How did you know about that?" Steve asked.  
"I'm assuming you're referring to the 'not a perfect a soldier, but a good man' thing. I read some old reports on you and I listened to a recording of your little sailor moon transformation sequence. It was recorded, because, you know, science," she answered.  
Steve studied her face, "You belong to Hydra, don't you?"  
"Worse. I belonged to SHIELD. The ugly part of SHIELD. Where the line between good and evil was blurred. There was a side of the organization that would create and use assassins and monsters when the lawful way of doing things didn't work," She said furrowing your brows.  
"They made you an assassin."  
Yuna nodded. "I'm a mercenary now, but back in the day, I was told to 'Become stronger than the thing that tried to kill you' So, they made me become someone else, something else. After years of doing as I was told, I couldn't do it anymore. Killing people, torturing them, and never knowing why. I had no idea who the good guys were, who the bad guys were. My moral compass was broken. But not so broken that I didn't realize what SHIELD was doing was wrong. And I wanted out. So I hacked in to their database, deleted everything they had on me, stole the hard copies and killed every soul but one who held important secrets about me. Not actually in that order though."  
She tried to decipher his facial expression, but couldn't tell if he was disappointed or concerned.  
"Fast forward a handful of years later, an itsy bitsy spider spilled all of SHIELD's and Hydra's secrets. I started decoding the files. Looked through everything concerning the Winter Soldier. His last whereabouts, his habits, hideaways ... I wanted to learn everything about him -"  
"So you could kill him." Steve finished.  
She heard the water in the bathroom finally turn on, and came to the conclusion that Bucky was listening in on her back story. "Yeah." she exhaled slowly. "If you hadn't been there with him in the alley, I'm pretty sure I would have."  
"Me?" He said confused.  
She started playing with a piece of her hair that had fallen out of her bun. "You didn't fight me. Your natural instinct wasn't to protect yourself or even protect your friend, you're first instinct was to protect me, or rather to save me. I could see it in your eyes."  
"You were scared, and we didn't help that by following you." He took her hand from her hair and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. "You're right though I did want to save you. Old habits, I guess."  
"There's still some of us damsels in distress who would give anything to be saved by a strong and handsome young man."  
His eyes fell to her lips for a brief moment, before leaning in and giving her a soft kiss on her latte flavoured lips.  
"What was that for?" She asked, trying not to blush.  
"I never said thank you for patching me up." He leaned back against the armrest, his eyebrows pulled together as he placed his hand over the front of his rubs.  
"Um ... Your welcome." She leaned over him, one hand on the edge of the armrest, the other smooshing the cushion at his side and softly kissed him back.  
She felt his arm move around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.  
They made out until she heard the water turn off from the bathroom at the far end of the apartment and pulled her lips from Steve's. But he continued to touch her. His delicate touch along her jaw and neck was soothing to her. She closed your eyes and bit her lip, enjoying the blissful feeling of his fingers on her skin.  
They both heard the clicking sound of the bathroom door and she pulled away from him to sit back down on the sofa.  
The both of them held up their fingers to shush the other simultaneously,which caused them to laugh.  
"Sounds like the two of you are having a good time." Bucky said emerging from the hall.  
 "Oh, yeah so much fun. Steve was just telling me about that embarrassing moment you had when you were seven and -" Yuna started.  
"Why would you tell her about that?! And I was eight by the way." He yelled.  
She and Steve burst out in laughter, as Bucky realized that wasn't actually what they were talking about.  
"You both suck." Bucky said throwing his towel at Steve.  
Steve got up, grabbed his pile of clothes and headed toward the bathroom.  
"Wait, wait." Yuna quickly ran to the kitchen, and grabbed a roll of cling wrap. "Use this to cover your stitches." she said walking up to Steve. "Unless you'd like me to do it for you."  
Steve smiled and looked away from her, "I, uh, I got."  
She walked back to the sofa and plopped down on the far end.  
Bucky stood awkwardly at the opposite end, not knowing what to say. He had a thousand questions but couldn't seem to ask a single one.  
Yuna didn't like awkward moments and since tall, dark, and brooding wasn't coughing up a conversation, she stood up and walked to the kitchen. She pulled the folder of take out menus from the cupboard and placed it on the dining table.  
Bucky walked up to her, "I'm sorry."  
She looked at him bewildered. Her killer just apologized for killing her. Dafuq?  
He held out his hand, his facing pleading for her to take it. She hesitantly placed her hand on his and let him lead her the balcony.  
He explained to her that he remembered her and the memory of her death tormented him. She had been his only mark that didn't fear him.  
"I enjoyed being with you that night, the way you smelled, the softness of your skin beneath my fingertips," he reached out and glided a finger along her cheek.  
She jerked away, and furrowed her brows, took a step backwards and bumped into Steve.  
"Bucky." Steve cautioned. He placed his hands at the sides of her shoulders and looked down at the top of her head, "Are you alright, Yuna?"  
At that moment her cell phone began to ring. She stepped out of Steve's hands, walked inside, stood for a second to determine where the device was and walked over to the sofa and lifted a cushion.  
She answered it, placing the caller on speaker. "Yuna, it's Tony."  
The two boys looked at each other as they heard the familiar voice.  
"Bonjour, Monsieur Stark, what can I help you with?" She said staring directly at Steve and placing a finger over her lips before motioning for them to come inside.  
"I'm sending you a file." He said urgently.  
"Let me power up my system," She said walking over to her clunky laptop and slamming her finger down on the power button.  
"Why won't you let me upgrade your place? You could have state of the art -"  
"Tony, we've been through this. You're lucky I even have a cell phone." She interrupted.  
"That is not a cell phone. That is an antique." He pestered.  
"I should look for my pager." She said nonchalantly, looking up at Steve and winking.  
"You are a horrible person." Tony said.  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm so evil." She droned waiting for the log in screen to appear.  
"You do know that time is money, right?' He asked impatiently.  
"And I am so honored to waste both." She bragged.  
Steve covered his mouth and held his stomach as he silently laughed in front of her.  
She scrunched her face at him.  
"Yuna, that heap of junk better not have a dial up connection."  
She had already logged into her email but opened another tab in her browser and did a quick search of the audio file and played it as loud as she could, right into the phone.  
"That's just mean." Tony pouted.  
She downloaded the file Tony had sent and opened it.  
"Tony, this is a blue print for a new arc reactor. I thought you had surgery? Are you alright? But it's the wrong dimensions this one is far too small for you - "  
As soon as the words escaped her lips, she understood what she were looking at.  
"You would never have to go under the knife every three years to replace yours." he said solemnly.  
Yuna's mouth gaped as she stared at the screen. The relief she felt of never having surgery ever again almost made her cry. But then her skeptical side took over, "And your price?"  
"Just a few outfits for some friends of mine." Tony said.  
"You still have some of those?" She asked sarcastically.  
"Very funny. Do we have a deal or not?"  
She groaned, "But I hate New York."  
"Is that a no then?"  
"No, its a yes. I'm flying first class this time though."  
"No you're not. I'm picking you up in the jet."  
"With bubble tea. I'll see you in 72 hours." She hung up the phone.  
Steve was looking over her shoulder at the schematics of the arc reactor. "You work for Tony?"  
"I work for money. Tony's, Hydra's, Sheild's, Aim's ... it doesn't matter to me. Besides, I thought you liked that stealth suit I made for you." She quipped.  
"You made that?" He asked, impressed with her.  
"Uhh huh." She nodded then looked up at him with a smile.  
Bucky was leaning against the wall arms crossed his chest, "Like father, like daughter."  
"I don't belong to Hydra, unlike you, Winter Soldier," She spat.  
Bucky looked at her angrily and was about to argue with her but changed his mind and walked away.  
She huffed, disappointed with herself. "I'm sorry, Steve. I didn't mean to make him angry. I just can't seem to forgive him. Even with knowing that he was being controlled by Hydra, a soldier just taking orders. I want to forgive him, but I just can't." Tears began to fill her eyes.  
Steve placed his hand under her chin and moved her head to make her look at him. "Knowing that you're willing to help us, proves that you are half way there."  
She smiled up at him.  
He walked away and headed to where Bucky disappeared to as she scowled at the virus Tony had implanted in the download and killed the power to the laptop. She placed it under her arm and followed Steve.  
The two young men were in the kitchen talking animatedly in whispered tones, as she joined them.  
She looked over at Bucky, "You look like you could vent some anger. Think you could take it out on this?" She held up the laptop.  
"Gimme." He said hand out stretched. He placed it in the sink and began punching it, pieces flying everywhere.  
She quickly walked out of the kitchen closely followed by Steve. She picked up and tossed the folder of menus to him without looking. "Pick whatever you'd like, and you're still welcome to sleep here tonight, but you both better clear out of here by dawn. Tony will be here by 3pm."  
"You know him so well." Steve said over the crashing sounds coming from the kitchen.  
"That man is not patient. I'll tell him 72 hours, he gives me 24... maybe ... on a good day. And considering he just found out that your best friend killed his parents, I'm guessing today, tomorrow and the next six months are not going to be good days." She voiced, walking over to her book shelf.  
"Did Bucky tell you that?" Steve asked looking up from the menu in his hand.  
Bucky stood at Steve's shoulder, as she pulled a sketch book from the shelf and flipped through the pages, "Tony did. Seeing that I'm the only person alive who can empathize with him."  
  
After she placed the order for dinner, and threw their clothes in to the washer, Yuna walked over to Bucky and asked to look at what was left of his arm.  
"Ouch!"  
"Sorry, Let me sever the connections so you're no longer in pain." She said standing up.  
"It's fine." He growled.  
"Oh, so you always talk with your teeth glued together?" She asked sarcastically, and pulled a book from a drawer in the coffee table.  
"Um ..." Steve said raising his eyebrow and pointing at the book in your hands.  
"I can't make it obvious that I do more than fashion design." She retorted.  
She laid the book open to reveal a hundred different tools.  
"Those are from Hydra." Bucky noted.  
"They were a gift to my father when project Deadlock started." She shared.  
Bucky nodded.  
"What's project Deadlock?" Steve inquired.  
"Basically, it's the tech based off of The Winter Soldier's metal arm, but for every organ of the body. If Hydra had been the ones to fix me, my heart would have been a part of that project." She answered, as she gently inserted a tool that looked like a miniature fork into Bucky's shoulder.  
It sparked against her hand and left small burn marks on her skin, she exhaled loudly from the pain and squinted her eyes as she continued prodding and twisting in various areas.  
Bucky wiped a tear from her cheek.  
She looked up at him, eyes wide. His touch was so delicate and sincere. She hated it.  
She continued working on his shoulder only stopping to answer the door when the Chinese food arrived.  
"I'm sure someone else more experienced would do a better job at this," She voiced after the fifth time of making Bucky jerk away.  
"You're doing fine." He encouraged.  
She had him lay down after he was done eating so he could be comfortable as she finished her work in silence.  
  
Bucky had fallen asleep sometime during the time she was in the bathroom taking care the burns on her hand.  
Steve had cleaned up the living room and had placed her food on the dining table.  
She grabbed a carton and a pair of chopsticks, but her hands were so fatigued and burned she couldn't keep hold of the carton and dropped it.  
Steve caught it before fell it on to floor. "Are you alright?" he whispered, placing back onto the table.  
She set the chopsticks down and messaged her palms. "My hands hurt." she replied, shaking her head. "Micro-mechanics is not my forte."  
"You did so well you got him to go to sleep." Steve praised.  
"Does this mean we can go back to kissing?" she teased.  
Steve blushed and looked away.  
"Sorry." She said stifling a laugh.  
"No, it's um ... it's fine." He said placing his hand on her hip.  
She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close to him, as he lowered his lips on to hers.  
He pulled away slightly, "You sure you don't want him?" He said nodding his head towards Bucky.  
"I want you." Her eyes were filled with lust as she slowly slid one hand down his chest, to play with the edge of his pants.  
He closed his eyes, raised his eyebrows as he bit his lips, and took a frustration-filled deep breath.  
She stepped out of his arms and walked toward her room, turning around and cocking her head to one side. 'It's just one night.' she mouthed to him.  
He followed her to the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind him.  
"You are not having sex with her."  
Yuna and Steve froze as they both heard the low growl from the living room.  
She pulled Steve's arm, turning him toward her and kissed him. He moved his hands up under her shirt, and moaned loudly into the audible kissing sounds she was making. She could hear Bucky storm down the hallway and pulled away from Steve just in time to open the door before Bucky could kick it in.  
"Would you like to join us?" She said trying to be serious but Steve burst out in laughter which made her laugh too.  
Bucky walked in and grabbed her by the waist, held her close and placed his forehead on hers. " You are mine, and when I leave here tomorrow, I will have you look at me the way you did that night."  
She took a deep breath as the rush she felt only once before washed over her. The husky voice played through her ears like a sirens song. Every ounce of anger she had toward the man that killed her was replaced, as she heard his heartbeat thunder though her mind, echo through her veins, and start a storm in her soul.  
Unable to control the rage, she began to cry, the tears streamed down her face as she began to slam her fists against his chest.  
Steve took a step forward, but Bucky held up his hand.  
"I will never be yours! You're a monster! You were the beautiful nightmare that crushed my soul! I hate you! How could you be so heartless?! Did you know I was just a kid?!! How could you do that?!! I didn't need to be killed! I needed to be saved! I thought you were the one to do it! You should have saved me!!! I hate you!!!" She kept hitting him even though her hands ached and the bandage on her hand scratched across the burns on her skin.  
"I'm so sorry, Yuna." Bucky whispered, before bracing himself for another blow.  
"No! NO!! You don't get to be sorry! You don't get to come back in my life and try to make it all better! Why did you even follow me out of the cafe?! I was perfectly fine without you!! I hate you!! I fucking hate you!!!"  
Steve grabbed her wrist and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her away from Bucky. "That's enough, Yuna," he said softly.  
She looked up at Bucky. "I hate what I've become because of you." She pulled her wrist from Steve's light grasp.  
Bucky stepped out of the way and let her leave the room. "This was a bad idea."  
Steve crossed his arms, "I don't know about that."  
Bucky glared at him, "She kisses better than that."  
"I know, we made out while you were in the shower." Steve said smugly.  
Bucky shook his head, "Cock blocked by own best friend."  
"TWAT SWAT BY YOUR OWN UNDEAD MARK!" Yuna yelled.  
Bucky turned around and looked down the hall in confusion. "Where the Hell are you?"  
"Ut her." She called out.  
  
Bucky and Steve walked down the hall, through the dining area, and into the kitchen. They looked up and saw that she was sitting on top of the refrigerator, mouth full of chow mein.  
"Glad you didn't lose that part of you." He smiled.  
She pointed at the microwave with her chop sticks.  
He glance over at it, a smile spread across his face as he opened the door.  
Steve stood behind him, "Why are your car keys in the microwave?"  
"It makes life fun." Bucky answered.  
She let go of her chop sticks and let them stick out from her mouth as she touched her nose with her pinky finger.  
Steve pointed to the oven, "Anything odd in there?"  
She gulped down a mouth full of food, "You betchya."  
Steve opened the top door to find a wide selection of knives, and the door beneath that revealed her not-so-humble collection of glocks.  
Bucky erupted in laughter, when Steve pulled the top of a pot on the stove and it was filled with ammunition.  
"Hey, Steve? Could you open the far door?" She pointed to the last door underneath the counter.  
Steve did as she asked and she threw her carton and chop sticks across the kitchen into the garbage can.  
She began to climb down to the counter, But somehow Bucky was already there, grabbed her around the middle and helped her down.  
She turned to look at him, that odd angry feeling threatening to crash over her again.  
He caressed the side of her face, and she couldn't help but pull away from him.  
"Don't. I'm still angry at you." She closed her eyes as she attempted to control her rage and breathing.  
Bucky had motioned for Steve to leave but he shook his head.  
He looked down at her angry- pouty face, and moved the piece of hair from her face,"You asked why I followed out of the cafe. The answer is that I'm in love you, Yuna."  
"Like hell you are! You killed me! Fuck off!" She went to walk away, but Bucky wrapped his arm around her again.  
"Let go!" She yelled, elbowing him in the ribs.  
"No. I'm not done talking to you!" He yelled, spinning her around and holding on to her upper arm.  
She tried to pull away but Bucky's grip tightened as she began to feel the tingling sensation of constricted blood flow down her arm. "Let. Me. Go."  
"Buck." Steve said stepping forward. "Let her go."  
Bucky ignored Steve and looked down at her, but didn't let go.  
"What the hell do you even want from me?" She raised her voice at him.  
"You! I want you! Show you that I'm not the same person you remember." He yelled.  
"No." She said sternly. "Now, let go of my arm, before I tear it off and look like you."  
He looked down at her and growled.  
"Can't say I didn't warn you." She said, before punching him in the face.  
Bucky let go of her arm only to place his fingers around her neck and pushed her against the wall. "Why are you being so damned unreasonable? I'm not the Winter Soldier, and even when I was, I always remembered you. After every wipe, every mission. You were the one person I never forgot. The one I fell in love with."  
Steve was right at his back, pulling his arm to get him to let go of her.  
"No, you didn't! You fell in love with the memory of me." She countered as she gasped for air. her hands were around his wrist, her feet dangling against the wall.  
Steve was pulling at Bucky's arm, and punching him in the back. "Let her go!"  
She should have been fighting him, hitting him in all the right places to free herself, but she didn't. Why? She could still think through the fog in her head, so why wasn't she fighting back? Her vision began to blur. "For someone who claims to love me, you have a really fucked up way of showing it."    
He leaned in, pushing her jaw up with his thumb and forced her lips to meet his. The sweet delicate taste seeped through to her tongue. It was the drug she had been craving all these years. And she was repulsed by it.  
He lowered her back onto her feet and slowly let go of her neck, as he continued to kiss her.  
She pulled her face away from him, "I will always hate you."  
He slowly backed away, the pain of her words showing on his face, as he let Steve pull him out of the kitchen.  
"Oh, no you don't. I'm not done with you, asshole!" She yelled, ignoring the pain in her throat.  
"Yuna, No!" Steve held his arm out to block her, but she bent back and ducked under his arm to slap Bucky in the face.  
She looked venomously at him, her rage rising to a dangerous level.  
Bucky must have picked up on it too, because his eyes went dark as he pushed her hip causing her to walk backwards and kissed her hard when her back hit the wall.  
She scratched at his back and puched his arm as he held her up against the wall, and aggressively bit her lower lip.  
Bucky yanked her hair and pulled her head back, "When are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours that the winter soldier isn't who I am?"  
She looked into Bucky's- no, The Winter Soldier's malevolent eyes, "Steve, think you're up for a perimeter check?"  
"Are you serious? I'm not leaving you!" Steve said while attempting to pull Bucky away from her.  
"Steve," Bucky's voice was low and gravely, "Just go." He pulled away from Yuna and walked over to slump onto the sofa.  
Yuna stayed fixed in her spot, as her blood boiled beneath her skin and her rage filled her head like an ugly red cloud of smoke.  
Steve grazed her shoulder with his hand. She diverted her eyes from Bucky, to look up at the tall blond who was clearly concerned with the both of Them. "You good?"  
She looked away, the steam evaporating from her mind and nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. It would still be a good idea to check things out though. Someone could have recognized you or followed us or something."  
"Okay." He simply replied, and gave her forehead a small kiss and rubbed her back before walking towards the door.  
"Hey, Cap! There's a cellphone in my left shoe next to the door. Take that one. Speed dial 7 if there's trouble." She told him, crossing her arms and placing the bottom of her foot against the wall behind her.  
  
Bucky stayed sitting on the sofa, evident that he was waiting for something. And she was waiting for something too, but neither one knew each other's intentions nor knew it was the same thing, until she no longer heard the tapping of Steve's finger against the rail in the elevator and Bucky launched a book at her head.  
"Ahh. You were waiting for a round two." she taunted, dodging the book to leap over the sofa and swing her leg towards his head. Her foot collided with thin air.  
"You'll have to be faster than that," Bucky said from behind her.  
"Damn, you super soldiers are quick." She dropped to the floor, "Quick to anger," She swiped her leg behind his, "Quick to fight," Bucky was on his back as she stood up. "Quick to love."  
He grabbed her ankle, "You're one to talk." He was annoyed with her but at this point he wasn't sure if he wanted to keep fighting, he didn't actually want to hurt her. That is until she kicked him in the face.  
"I'm not in love with you, fuckface." She ran to the kitchen, Bucky at her heels, she reached for the oven doors but he grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back.  
"I know! But you can't seem to see the difference between the Winter Soldier and me." He hissed into your ear.  
She grabbed the frying pan from the stove top and slam it against the side of his head. He let go of her wrist which gave her the opportunity to grab the back of his head and smash his face into the pan.  
"That fucking hurt." He punch her in the ribs which made her double over causing the pan to clatter to the floor.  
Yuna quickly turned around and jumped up to swing from the hanging pan rack before she kicked him in the chest and out of the kitchen. She dropped down in front of the oven, grabbed two trench knives and a butterfly knife before kick flipping Bucky into the living room wall, his head indenting the drywall.  
She slid the butterfly in between her breasts; the metal pressed against her skin with the pressure from the gore of her bra to keep it from moving, and flipped the knives into the air.  
Bucky leapt to his feet, "Oh you got to be kidding me." He said once he saw the knives in her hands.  
She flipped them again, "I think I'm in the mood for some maki rolls." She said as she advanced and sliced at his torso.  
He grabbed her arm, "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with your food?" He said hitting her ulnar nerve and causing her to drop the knife from her hand.  
"Nope. She encouraged it!" She stabbed him in the thigh as he grabbed her around the neck and flung her in to the hall.  
He pulled the knife from his thigh and threw it behind him as he tackled her into the hallway wall.  
She went to punch him in the neck but missed and collided her fist with the silver alloy of his shoulder. "Ahh!" she turned her head and closed her eyes.  
Bucky dropped his lips just below her jaw and bit her neck.  
"Fuck." She breathed as his teeth threatened to pierce her skin, her body succumbing to the painful pleasure.  
Bucky slowly transitioned his biting into soft nibbles then to feather light kisses.  
She opened her eyes, failing to remember when she had closed them, and punched Bucky in the head. "Nice try, asshole."  
Bucky growled at her as she pulled her knees up and pushed him off of her.  
She stood up and went to run but he grabbed her leg which made her fall flat on her face. She kicked him in the shoulder, but he didn't let of her leg, and instead pulled it towards him. Her kick to his head made him release her leg. She went to stand up but Bucky kicked the side of her knee causing her to tumble through the open door of the guest room.  
He grabbed her arm and flung her down on the bed, him standing at the edge. "Are you gonna listen to me?"  
"Oh, pardon! Where you actually talking this whole time?" She said rolling on to her stomach and kicking her feet into the air.  
He grabbed her ankle and flipped her on to her back before pinning her down.  
Yuna looked up at her wrists that were held down by Bucky's hand. His knee rammed into her thigh, his other leg pinning down her other one causing a searing pain along her shin. "Damn, son." she said looking back at his face, with a cheeky grin.  
Bucky took advantage of her being distracted and crashed his lips on hers.  
He broke the kiss and looked down at her. His blue eyes looked black in the dimly lit room. "dévorer moi [devour me]."  
  
Yuna walked out on to her balcony and got dressed before she leaned over the edge of the metal banister.  
She focused on the sound of the traffic on the street and the voices of couples passing by. The buzzing sounds from the street lights, the low rumbles of thunder outside the city, and the stormy wind as it rustled through the trees.  
The soft footsteps that belonged to Steve pounded through her ears. She walked back inside and met him in the living room.  
"He is alive, right?" Steve teased.  
"I know you can hear him breathing. The dude makes it sound like I'm harboring a small dragon." She replied, sitting down.  
"You want to talk about it?" He said walking around the sofa to sit beside her.  
She looked over at him. "No. But I probably will anyway." A sad expression on her face.  
"Come here." He said wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her toward him.  
She leaned against him as she let the first tears splash down onto his leg.  
"I was just a kid. 17 years old. I just wanted a normal life. Away from crime, away from Hydra. Then I was murdered by the best assassin known to man only to survive and live a life that has been kitty-wampus ever since. I don't think I've actually grown up much since the day I died. Maybe it's because I haven't actually aged? I don't know. But I still feel like that scared little girl who had to pretend to be brave." She lamented.  
"Facing your fears when you're scared is bravery. I don't think there was anything fake about it when you were ... " He stopped talking not knowing which word to use.  
She nodded, knowing where he was going with his statement.  
"Your bravery has shown through every moment I've spent with you. I'm sure it shows in every aspect of your life too." He complimented.  
"A life I actually hate to live."  
"I wish you didn't have to live this way; that there was a way to save you from it all." He said rubbing her cheek with the back of his finger.  
She tilted her head back, "Does it frustrate you that you can't? Knowing that I'm probably one of the few people you will ever meet that you can't save."  
"No one is beyond saving." He kissed her forehead.  
"Not according to the Code of the Mercenary." She said with mocked dignity.  
"You know being a mercenary is going to get you killed, right?" He asked squeezing her shoulder.  
"Until the day I meet someone who can rip my heart out again, I'll be fine." She quipped, getting up from the sofa.  
He looked up at you unconvinced. "I don't want to come back here and find out you're dead."  
"Ice cream."  
His puppy eyes and low voice were doing things to her and she didn't know what else to do. So she abruptly changed the subject on purpose.  
"What?"  
She walked over to the kitchen and flung the freezer door open. She was catching feels and per the norm she had to make it awkward so the fluttering in her stomach would go away. She began piling cartons of ice cream on to the counter and then raided the fridge of all the food items one could pair with the creamy goodness.  
Steve leaned against the entryway and silently laughed while watching her balance an armful of whipped cream cans and syrup jars.  
"Are you a hot fudge sundae kind of guy, or a banana split dude?" She asked kicking the fridge door closed and leaning backward to look at the tall blond upside down.  
"Ohhh. That's tough ... how about both?" He smiled down at her.  
"I like the way you think, sir." She said winking at him before standing up straight.  
"Want some help?"  
"Um, yes. I'm not one of those cute little betties from your era. I have no idea what I'm doing." She said pouting at the pile of food on the counter.  
Steve walked over and pushed her away from the counter with his finger. He cracked his knuckles, "I got this, princess."  
"Awe, you called me princess." she said blushing and hiding her face in her hands.  
"And every princess needs a tiara." He said right before she heard the schroosh sound of the whipped cream can above her head.  
She moved her hands away to watch him add three cherries to the 'tiara'.  
"Perfect." he mused, licking his fingers.  
"Now all I need is my prince!" she said excitedly, grabbing another can.  
"Um ... No." He said walking backward aiming his can at her.  
"Oh, come on! You need a new title anyway. Prince Stevie of the Nomads, sounds great!" she quipped making the space between them smaller.  
"Stevie?" He said darkly.  
"Uh Oh."  
  
What transpired next would be what one could only explain as an ice cream parlor exploding in the small apartment kitchen.  
The two blondes were covered head to toe in sticky sweets and crushed cookie bits, sitting on the floor eating the messes clean with a spoon in each hand.  
Yuna couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun, especially with someone she had only just met. It was like the perfect chaos of a blind date and a toddler's birthday party. She had completely forgotten about the snoring dragon in the other room as she laughed along with Steve during their epic ice cream battle. Everything she knew of Captain Rogers was so stupidly wrong. He wasn't just the soldier everyone said he was, he was more than that. A young man with a knack for fun and cute one liners.  
She smiled at the man who was scooping chocolate syrup from her sleeve. "Thank you."  
"For what?" He said before sticking the spoon upside down in to his mouth.  
She twirled her finger and pointed to the food covered room. "This." She spread her arms at the catastrophe they had made. "Our Sweetsdom!" She giggled. "I had fun. You made me laugh, and made me remember what it's like to be genuinely happy. I haven't felt this much joy since before my mother died. No cares in the world, just unapologetic fun."  
He put the spoon down and kissed her lightly on the nose. "Your welcome. Now go clean up. I'll take care of the kitchen."  
"No, you're still injured. I got -" But he popped a broken cherry into her mouth before she could finish her plea. "dadds cheedeen." she said waving her pointer finger at him.  
"Go." He said laughing, turning her around and lightly slapping her ass.  
She grabbed a Tupperware container and a mixing bowl and used them as slippers to scoot along the carpet without getting it messy.  
  
It was well after midnight and the rain storm finally began to rage outside, as she slowly undressed out of her very cold clothes and dropped them in the mixing bowl.  
She stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water. She let down what was left of her messy bun and flung the hair tie into the Tupperware container hitting the side with a dull whump before it fell over the counter, landing in the mixing bowl.  
Yuna stayed in the shower for a good 30 minutes, enjoying the heat of the water down her back, and the sound of the thunder that rolled through the low clouds outside.  
When she finally walked out of the shower, she stared at the spot where she had left the mixing bowl on the floor, "Hey Steve, the strangest thing just happened. My mixing bowl grew legs and walked away. Or maybe it grew it wings. But I don't remember feeding it any Redbull."  
She could here his stifled laughter coming from the kitchen, as she dried off.  
"I switched out the laundry and our clothes are soaking in the washer." she heard him say as he walked down the hall to the empty bedroom.  
"Why Captain Rogers, are you walking around my apartment nakey?" she said pulling a sports bra over her head.  
She heard a dull thump, that could only have been caused by Steve dropping his chin to his chest and hitting the door with his forehead, before hearing, "Goodnight, Yuna."  
"Sweet dreams, my prince."  
"Sleep sweet, princess."  
  
The morning sky was painted a light shade of mauve as the sun peeked over the horizon and attempted to shine through the heavy layer of clouds.  
Bucky sat on the ground of the balcony facing the double doors that led into the living room. His eyes were closed, as he breathed in the humid morning air.  
Yuna slowly rolled out of bed, and immediately regretted her decision. "They don't need me, right? I can just go back to sleep and -" The blood stains on her sheets shut her up.  
She went to walk to her full length mirror but found it painful to walk with on her right knee and limped instead.  
She looked at herself in the mirror, I look like hell. She had bruises all over her body; neck, shoulder, hip, thigh, and knee, just to name a few. She had four open wounds that ran along the outside of her left thigh and four more on the back of her left shoulder; all of them had continued bleeding throughout the night, covering her in blood. She looked like one of those zombies from that Walking Dead show. "Fuck it," she said and slowly walked out of her room.  
She finished up the laundry, started a pot of coffee, and went to walk outside to the balcony, but stopped when she saw Bucky already out there, meditating. Or at least that's what she assumed he was doing.  
She went to step backwards but forgot about her knee.  
The loud thud her body made as it collided with the floor woke up Steve and pulled Bucky out of his zen. The two soldiers were at her side in a matter of seconds.  
"Yuna! What happened?'  
"Yuna, Are you alright?"  
They both said over each other.  
She tried to wave them away, her fingers trembled at the blunt force they had just endured.  
Steve and Bucky were both horror-struck as they saw the casualties of her aggressive vilify with Bucky from the night before.  
She looked at both of their faces; shock and disbelief on Steve's, shock and regret from Bucky's.  
"Yeah, I know, my boobs look amazing in this bra. Can we get to the part where you help me up off the floor, please?" Her sarcasm came out a bit dry and condescending, but she felt like someone had shoved her out of a car on the freeway, then hit by a semi truck, driven by a Hawaiian dude that thinks he hit a dog that blew out all his tires, and finds her wedged under the fender and says he should call somebody.  
Steve picked her up and cradled her in his arms before he sat you down on the sofa, "Steve, dammit! Your stitches."  
"I'm fine." He tried to assure her, but she wasn't having it.  
"Lies."  
"Why didn't you tell me, you were this bad?" Steve asked, moving a piece of hair from in front of her face, only for it to land right back where it started.  
"My adrenaline levels were still pretty high when we talked last night." she stated, while she stared, dis-focused on the spot on Steve's torso that was void of purple silk.  
He looked down at where she was staring, then placed his finger under her chin.  
Yuna jerked away at the feather light touch and blinked a few times before she looked into those soft and caring baby blues. "Sorry." She shook her head, "You took out the stiches."  
"Yeah, I was healing faster than normal. What was in that powder?"  
"No idea. It was a gift from a from a friend."  
Bucky had disappeared once Steve had picked up Yuna. He came back with a couple of wet wash cloths, a dry hand towel and her hair brush, dropping them all into Steve's lap.  
Steve handed him the hairbrush back, and began to gently wipe away the dried blood from her skin, as Bucky pushed her forward to brush her hair.  
"Steve, she needs stitches." Bucky said in his low husky voice.  
"They stopped bleeding last night. It's fine." she protested. She hated getting stitches. Like abhorred them entirely. The feeling of needle and thread pushing through her skin, pulling the two delicate pieces together as the thread threatens to rip through her skin like it's rice paper. Nope. She was just fine.  
"I can't believe you messed her up this bad." Steve said disappointed as he stood up and walked away.  
"I don't need the fucking guilt trip right now, punk." Bucky said.  
"Are you sure? Because I kind of think you do." Steve retorted.  
"That was a very Tony Stark thing to say, Steve." Yuna said trying to look over her shoulder but her sore muscles weren't having it.  
Bucky moved all her hair to the front of her shoulder, and started to massage the back of her neck.  
"Stop making is sound like I raped her. She was just as violent as I was." Bucky snapped.  
"She's human, Buck! Normal human. She -"  
"Is literally sitting right here. Why don't I get to be a part of this conversation?" She thought out loud.  
"I know, she's human! I saw her react every time my hand came in contact with her skin." Bucky yelled.  
"And you didn't think that maybe you should have stopped fighting her, hitting her -"  
"Someone has clearly never had angry sex before." She slurred. The massage Bucky was giving her made her relax into a black and blue puddle of bliss.  
Steve headed back to the sofa with a fresh wash cloth, towel and a cup of coffee. "Hope you're okay with vanilla this morning. I used up all the caramel drizzle last night when I was drawing on you leg."  
She giggled and took the cup from him.  
Bucky looked at Steve, "What did I miss?"  
Yuna lifted her head, "The prince of the nomads and the princess of heartless joined their forces to build a kingdom of so many sugary sweets, that any man who dared step foot there in would immediately fall into the dark depths of a diabetes induced death."  
Bucky stopped massaging her neck and leaned around her shoulder to look at her face, "I'm starting to worry about you."  
"I'm starting to worry about me too," she said, furrowing her brows and taking a sip from her coffee.  
"Where's your medical kit?" Steve asked, looking up at her.  
"I don't need stitches, Steve." she said annoyed.  
"Yes, you do." He said sternly.  
"Nope."  
"Yup." he countered.  
"It'll help you heal faster, Yuna." Bucky said in almost a whisper, not looking at her.  
She huffed, "It's under the sink in my bathroom."  
Steve got up and kissed the top of her head before walking to the back of the apartment.  
She looked over at Bucky, and for the first time, saw him. Bucky. Not the man that killed her, but the broken soul who was trapped inside, regretful of all the winter soldier's past transgressions. Her chest tightened, and her breath caught in her throat, as tears welled in her eyes.  
Yuna slowly moved her hand to the side of his face and had him look at her.  
"What's wrong?" He asked seeing the tears in her eyes. He turned his whole body to face her.  
"Bucky." She spoke his name with the tone of her realization. She scanned his face, taking in every detail; the smoothness of his lips, his dark facial hair, the contours of his face up to his temples, his eyebrows shadowing his blue eyes.  
He looked at her in confusion when she said his name, but his expression changed as it registered in his mind that she finally saw him. He smiled and allowed her to continue to memorize his face.  
Steve walked back in to the living room and stood for a second to watch her scan over Bucky, before kneeling in front of her and lightly lifted her leg to wrap her knee. He glanced up at her then to Bucky, and faintly smiled.  
The tears she had attempted to hold back, rolled down her cheeks as she breathed heavily, "I'm so sorry."  
"Come here." Bucky said wrapping his arm around her shoulders and holding her close as her teardrops trickled down his chest.  
Yuna was a hailstorm of emotions as they all escaped through her tears and through her hands as she clung to his body, her own convulsing from the emotional pains her heart couldn't contain.  
Once Steve was done bandaging her knee and fingers, he sat behind her and wrapped his arm loosely around her waist and softly rest his head on the back of her uninjured shoulder.  
She nuzzled into the base of Bucky's neck, "I'm so sorry I didn't see it until now. See that you were just as much a victim as I was. That there was a broken soul in that shell hydra created. I'm so sorry, Bucky. You didn't deserve it. Of all the people in the world, you're the only who truly understands what I've been though. And I hated you and beat on you all day instead of letting you comfort me because you had already figured it out and I just ... I'm so sorry ... Please forgive me." She sniveled.  
"Of course I forgive you." He said moving his arm away from her back simultaneously as Steve let go of her. He wiped the tears from her cheek.  
"I can't forgive the winter soldier though. I won't." She sat up straight and looked into Bucky's eyes. "I still need that fire. I can't be who am without it. Or Steve will be right, and being a merc will be the death of me."  
He caressed her face as she felt Steve pinch the skin on her shoulder which made her tense up and widened her eyes as she felt the needle penetrate her skin.  
"Breathe, Yuna." Bucky said still caressing her face and moving his thumb back and forth along her cheek.  
She began to shake her head, "I changed my mind. I don't want -"  
Bucky placed his finger over her lips, "You got this, doll."  
"Doll?" She echoed before erupting in laughter. "Oh my God, you are so old!"  
"Yuna, stop laughing so hard. I can't stitch up if you keep moving." Steve said glaring at Bucky, who was also laughing just as hard.  
"Sorry, Steve. Hold on." She said reaching for her cup of coffee.  
Steve stitched up her shoulder as they asked her how she got certain scars, about the technology that made her heart ("Some form of alien living metal, but it can't thrive inside humans for a long period of time, which is why I have to replace it so often.) and why she plays the sides between the middle. ("I'm still the daughter of a man who was one of the most beloved heads of all of Hydra. I'm expected to be bad, but I like helping the good guys.")  
"How do you keep it all secret? The bad guys not knowing you work with the good guys." Steve asked.  
"Blackmail!" Yuna said a little too excitedly. "Well, that and I have other mercenary friends, who are way more intimidating than I am."  
"All finished." Steve said rubbing her back, and standing up from the sofa.  
"Stand up." Bucky said pushing her arm up.  
She set her cup on the coffee table and did as she was told.  
Bucky then examined the tears he had made on her thigh. "You could use some stitches on these as well, but you'll probably rip them if you have to run in the next few days."  
"Do you have some super glue?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrow.  
"I swear, that thing has a mind of it's own." She pointed at his eyebrow. "Yes, I have super glue. There's a bottle of it in the kitchen ... somewhere." She aswered with a pouty-frustrated look on her face.  
After Steve placed a generous amount of glue on each of her wounds, and it had dried completely, she went into her room to put on some clothes.  
The two boys followed suit and then began making breakfast.  
"You look cute." Steve said placing a plate of food on the table for her.  
Bucky was already seated and was half way done with his plate, when he looked up at her, his eyebrows rose straight up.  
"You saw me completely naked last night, but this is what makes your face do that?" she asked pointing at him. "It's not even ... It's just a running outfit ... like ... it's really nothing special." she looked away, feeling embarrassed, "You can stop now."  
   
Steve had just finished putting the dishes in to the dishwasher when your proximity alarm went off.  
"Shit! You guys have to get out of here! Now!!!"  
Steve and Bucky grabbed the bags she had just finished packing for them and ran to the front door.  
"You both are idiots, how have you not been caught yet?" She said pulling at both of their arms and leading them to her closet.  
She pulled up a fake floor at the back of the closet. "This will lead you to the floor below. Level 13. Lucky for me, the people here are superstitious. So I did some renovating, down there. It's a complete dead zone. You can us the fire escape at the north side of the level." You looked down at the screen in your hand, "Fuck, he just left the airport."  
Steve gave you a hug and a kiss on your forehead, "Thank you, princess."  
"There's some old looking tech that will help you get to wherever you're going." she informed, pointing at the bag.  
He nodded before he descended the stairs. Leaving her and Bucky to have one final moment together.  
"Please be safe." He begged. His hand at the side of her face.  
She had tears in her eyes as she nodded.  
"May I kiss you goodbye?" He asked softly.  
She nodded once.  
He pulled her in close and kissed her. The sweet taste now mixed with the salty tears she let escape down her cheeks.  
"It was a pleasure to have finally met you, Bucky Barnes." she whispered as she hugged him.  
He pulled away and turned her to placed his hand over her heart. "Keep me here to know that you are loved. And keep your rage for The Winter Soldier right beside it. But most importantly, remember that I will always be proud of the amazing person you've become."  
He kissed her cheek and followed his best friend to the level below.  
"Steve, make sure you keep her safe." She heard Bucky say before lowering the door.  
  
Yuna walked around her apartment, not a single thing would have made someone think that two super soldiers had spent the night. Steve had put the towels they had used in the dryer, he took out the garbage, and loaded the dishwasher. He even fixed the indent in the living room wall. The beds were made in the guest rooms and Bucky had lit candles in every room to mask any scents of them.  
She closed her eyes and let the sadness wash over her. She didn't realize how much she'd care for the two men that followed her out of the cafe yesterday, until they had to abruptly leave.  
She grabbed a sketch book and a pencil and limped back into her room. She laid the book open on her bed and placed the tip of the pencil to the page.  
"I can't draw them. I can only remember them." She said to herself.  
She placed the pencil down and almost began to cry ...  
 Ding Dong  
"Dammit."  
Yuna glared toward the front door, before quickly leaving the bedroom and silently fuming with every sharp-pained step.  
She opened and held the door like a butler would to let Tony in, and glared at his back.  
"Where are your bags?" He asked as he dramatically turned around.  
"You forgot the bubble tea." She said looking at his empty hands before closing the door. "And I said 72 hours, Tony."  
"Yeah I was kind of hoping that you could come now." He said taking his sunglasses off.  
"Damn." she breathed seeing the dark bruises around his eye.  
"Yeah, well you should see the other guy." He said looking around the apartment.  
"What are you looking for?" She said flatly. The fire she usually had behind her quips was completely gone.  
Something Tony noticed. "Nothing. What's going on with you? You're all gloomy."  
"Having the Winter Soldier in the media, your fight with him ... I thought it would fuel my hate toward him, but it made me scared of him instead," she lied.  
"Which is why I want you in New York for a few days. I don't want him knowing that you're still alive. If my hunches are correct, they'll pass through here and I'm not letting either one of them hurt anymore people I care about." He said sternly.  
She looked at Tony, with tears in her eyes.  
"Yuna, you know I care about you. I always have." He said with open arms.  
She limped into his inviting embrace. "You've never said it out loud before." she said, but that wasn't the only reason she was crying. She couldn't believe that Tony would think Steve Rogers would ever hurt her in any way.  
"So your mark fought back, huh?" he said into her hair.  
"Something like that."  
"Show me." he said as he took a step back and flipped the pull on her zipper.  
She went to protest but knew it was stupid to. He was going to see them soon enough any way.  
She pulled the zipper down and discarded the jacket on to the floor.  
"Shit." Tony exclaimed as he circled around her.  
"You should see the other guy." She snickered.  
"We'll fix you up at the compound." He said taking a closer look at the stitches on her back.  
Why was Tony looking so close to those stitches? Did Steve sew his goddamn name into your skin?  
"And what will that cost me?"  
Tony lightly grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, "Nothing. Just let me take care of you."  
He looked into her eyes and furrowed his brow, "There's something else wrong isn't there?'  
She couldn't keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks. She couldn't tell him what was really wrong, and it killed her inside. Lying to her friend, betraying the only father figure she still had made her sob into his shoulder, as he stroked her hair. Would he forgive me if he ever found out?  
"It's alright. You're gonna be fine." He patted her back.  
She pulled away, her eyes downcast.  
Tony bent his knees and tilted his head to look at her face, "Bubble tea is in the jet."  
She looked up and giggled as she wiped the tears from her face. "I'll go start packing."  
Yuna was so tired and sore as she attempted to human. From packing her bags to entertaining the ever impatient man-child at her heels. Seriously why would anyone want children, just make friends with a billionaire-philantropist.  
She grabbed her sketch book from the bed.  
"Will you please join the rest of us in the twenty-first century, Yuna?" Tony asked as he rolled his eyes.  
"Tony, I'll have you know that I use a Cintiq for work all the time. But it's not exactly travel friendly." she replied, annoyed.  
Tony nodded his head.  
"I think I'm ready." She thought out loud. Looking around her room, wondering if she had missed anything.  
"Clothes." Tony said walking into your closet.  
"I packed my clothes!" She stomped her foot.  
"Okay, let me re-word that." He walked out of the closet, clothes in hand. "You need a proper travel outfit. This will do." he said, laying a black track suit on the bed, and leaving the room.  
She emerged a few moments later suit cases in hand but nearly dropped them both as she saw Tony kneeling down in front of the indented wall Steve had fixed.  
She slowly walked forward, "It's just a patch job. I was going to have a professional do it up proper when I got back." she lied.  
Tony stood up and followed her with his gaze. He knew something was up, but kept his suspicions to himself.  
"Lets get going." He said walking over to the door.  
"Need keys. Hold on." She ran to the kitchen, opened the door to the microwave and plucked her apartment keys from inside.  
Tony raised his eyebrow, but she didn't notice.  
"There is something oddly wrong with you. You do know that, right?" He said walking out the door.  
"I'm not wrong. I'm just different."  
  
After their typical 30 minute chit chat that was piled with sarcastic comments and half-assed insults, Yuna slowly lowered herself into the leather seat of the Stark Industries private jet.  
Tony disappeared to the back of the plane before emerging with a cup of bubble tea. "There's 5 more in the fridge." He said sitting across from her and winking.  
Yuna dropped her head, "The boba gets hard and yucky when it's refrigerated," she pouted.  
"I'm hurt that you think I'm so uncultured. The boba and seals are the counter. The tea is in the fridge."  
"You're so good to me." she said before taking a sip.  
"Well, someone has to be."  
"You mean when it's not Pepper."  
Tony clenched his jaw and rapped his fingers along the ledge under the window.  
"Sorry. I forgot about the breakup." she apologized.  
Tony never explained to Yuna why they weren't together anymore, and she was never one to pry into his relationship, but she still felt cut off from both of them because of it.  
  
The eight hour plane ride to New York was so smooth it lulled her to sleep. It wasn't until she heard Tony's voice softly saying "come on, sweetheart" that she even realized she had been asleep.  
Yuna yawned and stretched as much as her beaten body would allow.  
"Good morning, sleeping beauty. Time to kiss some frogs."  
"Tony that's not ... never mind." She got up from her seat, went to the back of the plane and emerged with a bubble tea in each hand.  
Tony looked at her with his eyebrow raised. (Ah, so that's where Cap got it from. But then how did I not come to that conclusion sooner?)  
"The other two are in my back pockets," she blushed.  
"You have a problem." He said pointing at her.  
"Don't we all?"  
"Touche'."  
She plopped three of the bubble tea cups into her messenger bag and followed Tony out of the jet.  
"Hey, Happy! How's it hanging?" She called out as she descended the stairs.  
"Good to see you again, Miss Yuna." He nodded.  
Tony's phone began to ring, as the two of of them walked toward a black Audi. She looked over at Tony as he leaned against the back of the car. Whoever he was talking to was clearly not a friend, as she witnessed the side of Tony's mouth twitch in annoyance. He looked up at her, crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out, which made her double over in laughter.  
"Everything alright?" She asked after he hung up. She took a sip from her bubble tea, and looked at him with a concerned expression.  
"No need for the puppy eyes, Yuna. It's just a small mess I have to clean up." He said not moving from the tail end of the car.  
"In addition to the big messes you still have to clean up?" She shook her head. "I don't know how you do it, Tony. You're like a single father who's kids keep running away from you even though all you're doing is trying to protect them." she commented, walking up to him.  
"Where were you when all this Sokovia Accords bullshit was blowing up in my face? You probably could have convinced everyone to sign it." He said walking to the passenger side of the car.  
"Uh, Tony? Who's driving?" she questioned pointing at the driver's door.  
"You are, princess."  
Tony's words sent an uncontrollable shiver down her spine. Her mouth went dry and she tried to blink away the tears that welled in her eyes. Her night with Steve played through her mind. Him calling her princess, the tiara of whipped cream, the kiss on her forehead from this morning before he left.  
"Yuna? Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Tony was looking at her, worry painted on his face.  
She shook her head, "It's nothing. Let's go." She jumped in the driver's seat, put her sunglasses on, and slammed the car into drive before squealing the tires on the pavement.  
"Oh my god, who taught you how to drive?"  
"You did, Tony."  
  
Tony's phone rang two more times while he had her drive to the Avengers Tower.  
"Alright, Tony, what's going on? I let the first one slide, but these two caused a few of your hairs to go grey." She said not taking her eyes off the road. She forgot how weird it was to drive in the states and didn't want to risk getting too distracted.  
Tony pulled the visor down to look at himself in the mirror, "Where? Call Dante' and tell him it's a fashion emergency."  
"Did I just get hired to be your personal bitch? How much do I get paid? Can I still kill sketchy people when they piss me off?!" She grinned and tried not to laugh at herself.  
"Uh, no ... to all of that." He waved his finger up and down toward her. He wasn't sure whether to judge her or worry about her. Sometimes she was at a level of weird no normal human should be able to reach.  
"And the phone calls?" she persisted.  
"Boring government garbage."  
"Everyone abandons you, and because you're the only one left, you get the lashings from the United Nations and the entire world. The government always needs someone to blame, and you're the last man standing. And then, when they're done with you, broken and bruised, they'll still expect you to say thank you."  
"I think that was most serious thing I've ever heard you say." He said, unable to hide the his awe in her.  
"I'm sorry, did you just want me to call you the governments garbage bin instead?" she said with a smirk, pulling into the parking structure for the Avengers Tower.  
  
The two of them entered the practically deserted building. There were a few security personnel on each floor as Tony showed her around and explained why he and Pepper built it the way they did.  
He showed her where the quinjet was usually parked and the epic Avengers battle that destroyed the main hang out area.  
"What are those?" she pointed to a bunch of wooden crates.  
Tony turned around to see what she was talking about. "Those are just a few things that need to be transferred to the new facility."  
She looked at him skeptically.  
"I'm just waiting for the right time to do it."  
She raised her eyebrow at him. Tony Stark doesn't just leave his toys out for no reason. "Waiting for your spider pet to level up so you can 'help' him with the final boss fight?"  
Tony looked at as if she had just spoiled a movie he was about to watch.  
"You really think he has what it takes to be an Avenger?"  
Again, Tony stayed quiet. She could tell he wasn't happy that she could read him so easily.  
"Alright. I'll stop asking." she promised.  
"There's one more thing I want to show you." He walked over to the elevator and waited for her to join him.  
She stepped out of the elevator and on the floor that was designed for-  
"Level: Captain America. I know you're a big fan of his." Tony announced. Once again, as like with all the other levels he showed her, he made a holographic image of what the empty level looked like before everything was taken down, and began telling her fond memories he had there.  
"Tell me something only you know about Steve." She asked while walking back to the elevator.  
"Uh ... He sings in the shower."  
"His shower or yours? And everyone sings in the shower, Tony. I meant something not everyone would know." she said, trying not to pout.  
Tony rubbed the back of his neck, and looked over at her.  
She could tell this was hard for him. Everyone else would most likely say that Tony didn't like Steve or that he only saw Steve as Cap; that he never really got over his hate towards the great Captain America. Of course most of that was Howard's fault and his A+ parenting, but Tony not letting it go after all these years is his fault too. Yuna  knew a secret though; Tony actually had a soft spot for Steve. He was willing to bend rules and ignore laws, give his word to governments even though he knew Steve wasn't going to come back to the states with him. He knew Cap was far too gone, blinded (in Tony's words) by his devotion to Bucky. The same devotion she witnessed which resulted in her stabbing him because he took Bucky's lead.  
Her stomach growled loudly.  
"You read my mind. Where do you wanna go for lunch?" Tony asked, motioning for her to enter the elevator first.  
"Where was that awesome sushi place you were telling me about the last time you were trying to get me here?" She leaned back against the wall of the elevator as it made its decent.  
"15 East? Or maybe it was Sugarfish?"  
"You had recommended Kosaka."  
The sound of FRIDAY's voice made Yuna jump and she scowled at the eavesdropping AI.  
"My apologies, Yuna. If you'd like, I could clear my throat before speaking."  
She laughed to herself; an AI with a throat. "No, it's fine."  
She turned to face Tony, her head cocked to one side and her eyebrow raised, "Isn't she against the Sokovia Accords?"  
"Nope. FRIDAY has been around since before the accords." He let her exit the elevator first, and placed his hand on her back, veering her to the parking garage.  
"But she's still learning, her database ever growing. The very thing the accords want to prevent from happening." she countered.  
"True. But she's more like a - a personal assistant. To ... Ironman. Like Alexa is for everyone else."  
"Not convinced. But I wish I had you create one for me before all this no more AI thing went down." she divulged, walking toward the car.  
"What ever gave you the notion that I didn't?" Tony said casually as he slid into the drivers seat.  
"What?" She exclaimed, shock keeping her from moving for about 5 seconds.  
"I thought you were hungry. Come on." Tony said revving the engine.  
Tony explained to her that he had been wanting to give her a new heart and arc reactor to replace her alien one for a while. An upgrade to her apartment, complete with AI and a few other tech based gifts that would help with her career as a fashion designer. He wanted to give it all to her, all he was waiting for was for her permission.  
"Let's start with the new heart and arc reactor, then I'll let you know when I'm ready for the rest."  
  
After lunch, he drove her to the new Avengers facility. Her mouth gaped as she took in the impressive sight. It was no Avengers Tower, but somehow she liked this one better.  
"You can have the grand tour after your surgery." Tony informed, guiding her to the medical bay.  
Yuna's eyes went wide and her body tensed up as she continued walking.  
Tony noticed her reaction to his statement and stopped in front of her. He placed his hand on the side of her shoulders, "I didn't mention that, did I? If you want to wait, we can."  
She took a deep a breath, looking into those chocolate brown eyes that were glimpsing straight into her soul.  
She looked away and attempted to not feel weird by his gaze, "I want to change a few things about the design of the reactor, if that's alright." She said almost apologetically.  
"Okay. While Dr Cho fixes up your other injuries, I'll prepare the workshop."  
"Cool."  
  
Several hours later, Yuna felt like her normal self again. All the rips in her skin were healed, her bruises were gone, and didn't have a sore muscle in her entire body.  
Tony came to escort her to a different section of the facility that held his very large garage style work space.  
He walked her over to a table, where a brand new arc reactor sat on a small pedestal. Her arc reactor. She felt bad that she wanted to change it now knowing that he had already made it.  
"You said you had a few design changes?" Tony asked turning away from her and pulling up the holographic schematics for it.  
"It's just one change, really." She confessed as she slid in font of him, and dispersed the design into each component.  
"Tickle me impressed." He said surprised.  
"I use old tech 88% of the time just to piss you off, Tony." She said smirking, as she pulled the accelerator module from the rest of the pieces and placed her hands around the face of it.  
"That just hurts." he pouted, resting his chin on her shoulder.  
She formed a wide heart with her hands, the module nested in side. "FRIDAY, will you recalculate and design the core and heat sink to accommodate the heart shaped module, please?"  
"Of course, Yuna."  
She moved her hands away, the hologram moving on it's own, as each element was reconstructed around the new heart shape.  
"How do you plan on hiding this from the government?" She asked while pushing Tony's boney chin off her shoulder.  
"This? Your surgery? All legal. In both countries. Promise." He said confidently. "And if you're worried about the glowing through your clothes, I've put a stealth mode in it for you." He squeezed the sides of the holographic heart shape, which turned the blue core glow off.  
She turned to face him, a smile spread across her face.  
"Ready, now?"  
She and Tony began reconstructing the arc reactor, to accommodate her new design. It was well after 4am before the two of them finished and had fallen asleep. Tony laying over the table and Yuna was sitting on the floor, using his leg as a back support.  
  
The sound of an alarm clock rang through her ears. Yuna and Tony grumbled at the sound as they yawned and stretched.  
"FRIDAY, was that necessary?" Tony growled while standing up.  
"Completely. Dr Cho would like to know when Yuna plans on showing up for surgery?"  
"Fuck." She exclaimed, hanging her head.  
"Language!" Tony scolded.  
She furrowed her brows, and looked inquisitively at him.  
"Did I not tell you about that time Cap scolded us, well me, on a mission for cursing?" He walked over and grabbed the new arc reactor from the table.  
"No, but you have to now." She said smiling, eager to hear the story.  
Tony began to tell her that it happened during the mission to infiltrate a Hydra base in Sokovia. He had bounced off the base's force field and said shit. Cap immediately said 'Language' and from that moment on whenever someone would curse another would tease about how Cap didn't approve of such language.  
Yuna laughed and tried to recall if she had cursed in front of him during his stay, but Tony had pulled her attention from her thoughts to introduce her to Col. James Rhodes.  
"Are you sure you want to trust this guy with your heart?" He asked jokingly, shaking her hand.  
Yuna had a hundred quips threatening to fall out from between her lips, but every damn one was incredibly insensitive. Better to have my heart than my back ... At least I can walk away from a broken heart. Why am I like this?  
"I trust him with every part of me and my life." She finally said smiling back.  
"That's a good answer. Did he pay you to say that?" He laughed lightly hitting the back of Tony's shoulder.  
"There's no price tag for sincerity, my friend." She said, trying not to sound annoyed.  
Tony looked over at her and she could have sworn there was a tear in his eye. But the moment she blinked, it was gone.  
"We better get going." He declared, pulling at her arm and motioning for her to continue walking.  
"It was nice meeting you, Rhodey." She called over her shoulder.  
After Tony had placed enough space between the two of them and the Colonel, he placed his hand on her back and cleared his throat. "Did you really mean what you said back there?"  
"Tony, you know I have daddy issues and have deemed you my surrogate father figure. I don't have anyone else to care about, so it all goes toward you." Every word was the utmost truth, but she hardly ever showed this side to anyone, and for good reason, because whenever she did, people assumed it was fake or lies. The fear of that happening right here with Tony must have been evident on her face because he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her the biggest hug she had ever felt from him in the 13 (Or was it 14?) years she'd known him.  
  
The procedure didn't take as long as she thought and before she knew it, she was being woken up by Tony, "Wake up, sweetheart."  
The first thing she noticed was the odd coconut and aluminum taste in her mouth, "I'm never going to want a pina colada again."  
"You too, huh?" He said with a smile.  
She began to sit up, the tightness in her chest and lungs made her lose your breath.  
"How are you feeling?" Dr Cho asked from the foot of the bed.  
"Heavy." She really wasn't sure if that was the correct adjective, but her head was still swimming from the knockout gas and it was the best thing she could come up with.  
"If that's all then we did our job successfully." She said with a small smile. "You should take the day to rest. I'll be back in a few hours to check on you."  
Yuna waited until Dr. Cho left the room, then looked at Tony with a mischievous expression on her face.  
"You're not going to rest are you?" Tony asked standing up and offering her his hand.  
"You know me so well." she said, taking his hand.  
She changed into some jean shorts and a hoodie, before following Tony into the common area of the facility. On the coffee table was a small box with a bright pink bow on it.  
"For you." Tony pointed at the gift, and sat down on the sofa.  
She sat down next to him and picked up the box. She shook it slightly, but no sound came from within.  
Tony laughed at her and leaned back to watch her open the box.  
She lifted the lid and looked down. "Uh ... " She picked up a clear thin piece of what looked like acrylic and held it up to peer through it to Tony's smiling face. "You gave me a tablet sized screen protector?"  
"Think a bit bigger, will ya?" Tony raised his eyebrow at her.  
She looked at him for half a second. Then looked down and pinched the middle of the screen, moving her fingers away from each other. It lit up with light blue icons along the top of the screen.  
"You missed something, by the way." Tony pointed at the bottom half of the box.  
She placed her hand back in the box and curled her fingers around a pen shaped stylus.  
She poked the tip of the stylus to the icon that had the silhouette of an dressing mannequin, and her jaw dropped in awe as she glanced over the icons and menus.  
"Tony, this is amazing!" she placed the tablet and stylus down and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders. "Thank you so much!"  
His audible oomph didn't seem to get in the way of him giving her a small kiss on the side of her head as he hugged her back.  
She pulled away, tears in her eyes. "Really, Tony. Thank you." Her smile of hapiness filled her entire body and down into her very soul.  
"Ready to try it out?"  
"Fuck, yeah!" She said grabbing the stylus and putting it in her hair, before grabbing the tablet to follow Tony down the hall.  
"I've been thinking of giving our friendly little arachnid a new upgrade. Think you could help in designing this one too?"  
"Challenge accepted."  
  
Yuna and Tony, again, spent the entire day in the workshop, complete with Dr. Cho yelling at her over the intercom.  
"You should, most definitely, not be laughing." Tony said failing at keeping a straight face with her.  
"Rest is for wimps," she breathed after Dr. Cho was done chewing her out. "Besides, it's not like I'm running a marathon right now or eating Mexican food."  
Tony laughed at her little quips, realizing just how much like him she was.  
"Hey, Tony? I have a question about your AI's," she began.  
"Shoot."  
"They all have their own personalities, correct?"  
"Yup."  
"Could you explain to me why FRIDAY is hardwired inside the facility but stays eerily quiet all day?" She could hear FRIDAY's individual frequency the moment she stepped into the facility.  
Tony straighten from bending over the arachnid styled appendage and turned around. He was completely dumbfounded by her inquiry.  
"I just remember JARVIS being more talkative." Melancholy glossing over her face, as she looked over at Tony.  
His expression slowly changed as he looked at her tear stained face. He had forgotten that she was just as much family as Pepper was. That the sudden transformation JARVIS underwent into becoming Vision would have affected Yuna as well.  
"I miss JARVIS." Her voice cracked as a new wave of tears splashed down her cheeks and fell onto her chest. Everyone and everything she showed any emotion towards had a nasty habit of leaving her, and with the adventures of Steve and Bucky fresh on her mind, she couldn't stop the feeling of being abandoned again wash over her.  
Tony began walking toward her, but before he could reach her, the tears that had spilled on her chest slid down between the skin and the arc reactor causing a small spark to form inside her chest.  
"Yuna!"  
The pain shot through her entire body. She fell to the floor and curled herself into a ball. She tried to speak but that part of her brain seemed to have gone on vacation.  
"Yuna!" Tony pushed her on to her back and unzipped her hoodie. He took a towel from the table she had been sitting at and wiped the rest of the tears from her chest.  
"Come on, Yuna, say something!"  
She couldn't feel her own pulse. Had no idea what she was looking at. The oddly distorted sound of Tony's voice barely processed through her mind. She couldn't even tell if she was breathing. I don't want to come back here and find out you're dead. Steve's voiced echoed in her head.  
She shook her head and sat up, grabbing onto Tony's arm, as she took the deepest breath of her life.  
"Owe, owe, owe." Her voice sounded raspy and disconnected from her vocal cords as her body basically rebooted itself.  
"Yuna?" Tony's head was rested against hers, his voice, although only saying her name was evident that he was crying.  
"I'm sorry, Tony. I wasn't thinking." She was mostly scolding herself. How am I this stupid all the sudden? She knew she was still healing from surgery, and had been a dumb-fuck who didn't even put a shirt on to cover the new hole in her chest.  
"Are you alright?" Tony asked.  
She looked up at him, his concerned daddy voice caught her off guard. She had no idea he even had one of those, let alone use it on her. "I can officially say I know what it feels like when I reboot my computer now."  
He smiled at her as he helped her to her feet. He wasn't even trying to hide that he was crying.  
"Don't do that, tin man. You'll rust." she half-jested while wiping his cheek with the back of her finger.  
"Hahahaha."  
The sound of FRIDAY laughing was odd and caught her off guard but it made her laugh, which was quickly followed by Tony's roar of laughter.  
"Alright, I miss JARVIS less now."  
  
That night, Yuna went to the room that was set up for her. It was a very nice room, with decent sized windows and an extra fluffy bed with too many pillows. But as the minutes ticked by, she continued to lay in bed, eyes wide open like she had drank 6 shots of espresso to conduct an experiment to see if she could hear the sound of darkness. After three hours of staring at the ceiling, she decided to walk the lonely hallways.  
She stopped in front of the hall that led to the second set of rooms.  
"If you're looking for Captain Roger's room, it's the third door to your left." FRIDAY whispered.  
Yuna began to blush, as she silently walked forward. "Please, don't tell anyone."  
"You're secret is safe with me." FRIDAY replied.  
She turned the handle of the door and took a deep breath before entering the room.  
The light emanating from her chest filled the room as she walked around.  
She came across a drawing on the floor under the window. She picked it up, and studied the pencil marks that had taken form of a monkey on a unicycle. She chuckled to herself. Oh Steve, you were meant for so much more than just the one trick pony you see yourself as. She hoped to see him again one day, so she could tell him that.  
She poked through his wardrobe and found a dark grey hoodie that smelled very much like him.  
"FRIDAY?" she said softly.  
"Yes, Yuna?"  
Could you wake me up in the morning before Tony catches me in here, please?"  
"Certainly."  
"Thank you."  
She wrapped herself in the large hooded sweater and laid down on Steve's bed, not taking very long to fall asleep, wafted in the intoxicating scent of her favorite super soldier.  
"That's not fair."  
Yuna's eyes shot open and she sat up. In the middle of the room stood Steve. His head was tilted to one side and he was smiling at her.  
"Steve?" She shook her head not believing that he was there in the room with her.  
"You look adorable when you sleep. It's just not fair." He walked over to her and leaned down to kiss her.  
her head was a torrent of unfinished questions as she pressed her lips against his.  
He pulled away and sat down on the bed behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and rested his head in the crook of her neck. "I missed you."  
She melted into his arms, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his as he softly traced the glow of her heart through the thin material of your shirt.  
"It's too bad you're tainted now." Steve growled before ripping the arc reactor from her chest.  
Yuna shot up out of the bed and looked around the completely empty room.  
"FR - FRIDAY?" she panted.  
"You seemed to have suffered a nightmare."  
"And my heart?"  
"Your heart is beating at a healthy pace and the arc reactor in your chest is functioning at 100%."  
she rubbed her forehead and laid back down. "Thank you, FRIDAY."  
"Goodnight, Yuna."  
  
The next morning, FRIDAY woke her up and helped keep a look out while she sneaked back to her room.  
"Thank you, FRIDAY," she whispered as she latched the door.  
"It was my pleasure."  
She walked over to the shower and let the steam flood the room, while FRIDAY reminded her to cover her chest with the medical cling wrap that was on the counter.  
As Yuna washed her hair, Friday cleared her throat.  
"Are you alright, FRIDAY?" she asked trying not to laugh.  
"Yes, thank you. I just wanted to know, did JARVIS ever aid in your acts mischief?"  
She chuckled a bit before answering. "JARVIS would always tattle on me, like an annoying little brother. Why do you ask?"  
"You seemed to have had a good relationship with JARVIS since you had voiced that you miss him so much."  
"Tony used to show that he cared about me by letting me stay alone in the mansion during the summers, while he was away on business. So I got to spend a lot of time talking to the ominous voice of the house."  
"I see. Oh and you don't have to worry about any tattling happening with me."  
If FRIDAY had a hologram, Yuna was pretty sure she would have smiled after saying that. She couldn't help but smile at her mental image of the AI.  
Tony was so lucky to have FRIDAY. If anything, to have someone make him feel less lonely. Or maybe she just wished she had her own FRIDAY around to feel less lonely.  
  
After She got ready for the day, Yuna rushed to the kitchen to make some coffee then  began scouring the cabinets and cupboards.  
"Looking for something?" said Tony from behind her.  
"Caramel." She answered, continuing her raid of the large kitchen.  
Tony walked over to the pantry and pulled out a bottle of Ghiradelli caramel sauce and tossed it toward her head.  
She caught the bottle with out looking, and walked over to her steaming mug.  
"You know, for a fashion designer I would expect you to wear designer fashion. Not flared jeans and a band tee." Tony noted, joining her.  
"I design clothes for others to enjoy. Not clothes I would wear for my own enjoyment. I could care less what I look like during the day." she informed.  
Tony laughed before taking a sip from his mug.  
"You're usually in the same style of clothes I am though. Except for today, apparently." She said looking at the CEO styled Tony standing before her.  
"I have an unavoidable business meeting this morning." He rolled his eyes and placed his mug down.  
"I'm sorry. Is that why you're in a black Armani three piece? Your funeral's today? Should I send flowers? " She quipped, raising your eyebrow in unison with her mug.  
"A hundred bleeding hearts, if you don't mind. Maybe in a vase with a big red ribbon around it?" He smiled.  
"You are so extra, Tony."  
"Maybe." He shrugged, walking away. "You get the Spider-Man suit all to yourself today. Whenever you're done, Happy will take you to the airport."  
"I thought I was designing more than one suit?"  
"I figured if I accidentally on purpose leave the design of a new Iron Man suit out, you would add your special touch to it." He called out before out of her line of sight.  
  
After finishing breakfast and taking an armful of snacks, she headed to Tony's workshop.  
"Tony left some bubble tea in the fridge for you." FRIDAY informed as Yuna walked around the table to the new Spidey suit.  
She spent the next two days in the workshop, talking with FRIDAY ("Designer smartwatches will be all the rage next year, you'll see.") and getting scolded by Dr Cho. ("It's only because I care for your well being.")  
She loved using her new transparent tablet, but she kept losing the stylus and eventually had to have FRIDAY do a scan of the workshop and tell her where it was when she didn't have it stuck in her hair. Having an AI around was growing on her, but she still didn't trust Tony enough to upgrade her apartment. Especially if Steve and Bucky had future plans on going back to Paris.  
Yuna's first class flight back to France was less than eventful as she came down from her Avengers high. She found herself designing clothes for every single one of them and made a note to find a clothing company to collaborate with for a new line of superhero inspired couture.    
After her pricey Lyft ride, she trudged up to her apartment. The base of her home phone was blinking through the darkness as she closed the door behind her. 12 new voice messages. "I'll delete them later."  
She turned the lights on in the living room. On her coffee table sat a box with a big pink bow. She didn't like the idea that Tony was in her apartment without her, as she sat down on the sofa and pulled at the bow.  
The box flopped open to reveal a second heart arc reactor displayed under glass, with a plaque at the top that read 'Hearc Reactor' and a plaque on the bottom that read 'Hearts will never be made practical until they are made unbreakable'  
She knew from the moment it opened that this wasn't a gift from Tony. I was from Pepper. She didn't even get to see her while in New York, and it had been almost a year since the two of them had lunch together, yet Pepper still found time to make sure Yuna got her heart displayed just like she once did for Tony.  
It was the perfect memento for the beginning of her Life 3.0    
   
A few weeks later...  
"Yo! Strawberry Shortcake, how's it hangin?" Yuna answered her phone with a laugh.  
"That's not funny, little heartless." Tony quipped back.  
She switched her phone to the other ear, and continued drawing on her transparent tablet.  
"Heartless from Kingdom Hearts are adorable, so I'm taking that as a compliment." She said with the string of Steve's hoodie she was wearing still in her mouth.  
"I'm calling you with a Spider-Man update."  
She put the stylus down, took the string from her mouth, and leaned forward excitedly, "You mean your newest Avenger? How did he do with the press conference? He likes the new suit, right?!"  
"Not an Avenger. He, uh, he didn't accept the invitation. Or the suit."  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DIDN'T TAKE THE SUIT! WHO THE HELL DOES THAT SPIDER BITTEN BRAT THINK HE IS?!!?!?!?! My design was perfect!!! What a slap in the face! My art never gets the proper appreciation it deserves!! If I ever see that super spider, I'm spraying him in the face with a can of hairspray!!!"  
   
  
  
Several Months later....  
It was a dark moonless night. Snow covered the city of lights in a white shimmery blanket and Yuna was sitting on a bench drawing out her summer designs when the whiff of warm caramel tickled her nose. She slowly looked around.  
In the park across the river was a man leaning against the trunk of a tree, blowing the steam from one of the cups he held.  
She bit her lip, "Hi."  
He tilted his head. "Hey."  
She placed her book and pencil in her messenger bag and rushed across the street.  
"Is everything alright?" She asked looking up at a bearded Steve Rogers.  
"Bucky asked me to keep you safe." He said handing her a cup.  
"Am I in danger?" she asked raising her eyebrow at him and taking a sip.  
He finished his drink and threw it into a nearby garbage receptacle. "You're always in danger, Yuna. Until you stop killing people, anyway." He said sternly, but she could tell he was also being sarcastic.  
"That's not ending anytime soon. The money is way too good." she laughed.  
"Your new ticker looks cute." He pointed out.  
"Thank you. The heart shape was my idea." She said looking down at her chest. "I just wish it could have been a different colour."  
"A stealth mode would have come in handy."  
"Tony had that thought too." She pinched the protruding heart shape beneath her white long sleeved shirt and the glowing arc went black.  
"How is Tony?" He asked rubbing his finger on the back of her hand.  
"He's lost, Steve. Broken, I think. Well, more so now. I think he needed the Avengers more than any of you. It kept him balanced. Now that nearly everyone is gone from his life, he can't handle the thought of being alone, so he's trying to find replacements. Even though they will never fit in the voids." she answered.  
"Like Spiderman." He offered.  
"He was the first, and there have been others."  
Steve looked down at her and pulled her close. "Stop being so vague."  
She pulled away and rummaged through her bag until she found what she were looking for. She flipped the screen and began pressing buttons, holding out her coffee.  
Steve took the cup from her hand, and looked down at what she were doing.  
She nodded her head in the direction of her apartment building and began walking, not looking up from the white coloured device.  
"Um ..." Steve said walking beside her.  
Yuna placed the modded old timey cell phone in her back pocket and slipped her hand into Steve's while taking back her coffee with the other.  
"Don't make any sudden movements while we're on this street. The camera's think we're a cute Parisian couple." She whispered, barely moving her lips.  
The two of them walked along the street then ducked into the back alley to get to the apartment.  
  
"To answer your inquiry, Tony has a new Iron Man suit, a new hulkbuster, an enchanted item - Asgardian thing for Thor, and a new shield for you. The attack on New York still haunts him. And then all this weird Inhuman-alien stuff happening, there's constant threat to the human race. I think that's why he's trying to keep the Avenger's Initiative alive." Yuna divulged.  
She led him to the fire escape where he picked her up and set her down on the landing, then jumped up to the landing beside her, before silently climbing the stairs.  
She saw a familiar looking bag beneath her window sill and picked it up. She took a pick from behind her belt and gave it to Steve to unlocked the latch on the window.  
"Your doing your own laundry this time." She said after climbing through the window, shoving the bag into his chest.  
Steve laughed. Which made her smile.  
Then all the sudden she realized something wasn't right. Her bedroom door was open and her alarm hadn't beeped yet. Her body immediately tensed and she took a dramatic pose of defensiveness.  
Steve placed the bag soundlessly onto the floor, and stepped to her side, looking at her sideways silently asking what she wanted him to do.  
She motioned for Steve to watch the door as she walked over to her bed and lifted the mattress. She grabbed a gun and flung it to Steve. Then grabbed two more for herself and motioned for Steve to follow her out the of the room before she sneaked down the hall.  
Someone was in her kitchen rummaging through her refrigerator. She had Steve stay in the hallway as she advanced into the kitchen.  
She aimed at the intruder's butt, and pulled the trigger on both guns when he bent over.  
"Ah! Fuck! Shit! Goddammit, Yuna! Why can't you aim like a normal girl?!" He yelled, falling to the floor and putting his hands between his legs.  
"Because there's absolutely no fun in that, Wade." she retorted, as she placed her guns down on the counter. "There's money in the toaster, go buy your own enchilada's."  
"Chimichanga's."  
"A tes sante.'"  
"I don't speak wee wee baguette, Yuna."  
"Then you're in the wrong country, my friend." She said holding out her hand.  
The merc took her hand and pulled her down on top of him. His face collided with her breasts. He was saying something but she couldn't understand the muffled voiced, but she was pretty sure one of those words was 'Boobies.'  
"I have every intention of getting laid tonight, Wade, but it won't be with you." She said looking down at him and kissing his mask covered nose, before getting up.  
"Alright, I'll skadaddle out of here so the reader can finish their fan fiction with a straight face again in front of their Aunt Celeste." He said getting off the floor and walking awkwardly, his knees knocked together, toward the toaster.  
"What?"  
"You're gonna love the morning scene." Wade said slapping her ass as he walked by.  
"Did you get shot in the head again?" Yuna inquired.  
"Your payment is on top of the bookshelf." He said, dramatically closing the door behind him.  
"I hate you." She said pinching the bridge of her nose.  
Steve emerged from the hallway, where he was waiting for her to get rid of her house pest.  
  
{House pest? I have feelings, you know... maybe like two, but I still have them!}  
~Maybe I should have had Yuna shoot you in the head a few times instead~  
{You're the one who wrote me in, Creator. You could have given me my own fic, but no, you had to drop me in the middle of goddamn fucking Paris for no piss-ass reason. AND THEN shoot my balls off!}  
~It was funny~  
{That wasn't funny. That was a hit below the belt. Oh! I get it now.}  
~Slow much?~  
{You wrote me that way.}  
~I could just delete you entirely ...~  
{This is why you shouldn't write anything at two in the morning. You realize you're arguing with a fictional character, right? And the reader is probably just really confused at this point.}  
~Then shut up and go away so I can finish the damn story~  
{I'm just really worried about you.}  
~We'll pick this up later, Wade~  
{In the Spidey fic?}  
~Don't smile like that. It's creepy~  
  
  
"You alright?" Steve asked. Pulling her as close to his chest as physically possible.  
"Yeah, I'm alright. I forget that Wade is crazier than me sometimes. I kind of feel bad for him."  
Steve nudged her head with his chin, which made her look up at him. He softly kissed her lips.  
She kissed him back, her breathing coming in short bursts as she slid her fingers into his hair.  
Yuna began to giggle and couldn't keep kissing him. "I'm sorry, Steve. It's just, I'm not used to kissing guys with beards. I didn't realize it would tickle so much."  
He smiled and rested his head against hers. "I missed you, princess."  
She sighed and slid her hands into his back pockets to give his ass a little squeeze.  
Just then the sound of Starstruck by Lady Gaga began to play from somewhere in the apartment.  
"Fuck." She slammed her head against Steve's chest before she walked over to the fake potted plant at the entrance of the apartment.  
She looked down at the caller ID, then lifted the phone to her ear, "Espresso or Decaf?"  
Steve looked at her completely baffled. She smirked at his confused expression. He was like a puppy cocking its head at her after she made a weird as all hell noise it had never heard before.  
"Fuck." She looked down. "Yes, but it's gonna cost you triple."  
She headed back to her room. "Because it is fucking snowing. Because I had plans tonight. AND because you should have called me first, dipshit."  
Yuna pulled an outfit from her closet and placed on her bed. "I'll call you when it's done."  
Steve was leaning against the doorjamb with his arms crossed.  
"Don't look at me like that. It's a small job, I'll only be a few hours." she said, pulling a box from under her bed.  
He walked over to her and pulled at her hand. He sat down on the edge of the bed and had her stand between his legs. He looked up at her, both of her hands in his. "Don't let me being here distract you tonight, okay? I want you to come back to me in one piece."  
She tilted her head and smiled. "I missed you."  
"I'm serious, Yuna." He said letting go of her hands.  
Her cell phone dinged with a notification from her bank. Half up front. Half when the job is done.  
"I know, you are. And trust me, you won't be the reason I could fuck up and die tonight." she divulged.  
"Yuna?"  
"Inhumans are difficult to take take down when you aren't one. And 100% of the time I never know if I'm up against one until I arrive." She said as she began changing her clothes in front of him.  
He rubbed the side of his neck, looked away from her and closed his eyes.  
"Awe, you're so cute, Steve."  she voiced as she watched his cheeks turn pink.  
She changed quickly and grabbed everything she needed. Guns, knives, electrical do-dats, and a pen.  
"What's the pen for?" Steve asked, seeing her slide it into her boot.  
"Dramatic distraction. No one believes I can kill someone with just a pen, then I shoot them in the head to prove that they were right." She boasted.  
"Please, be safe." He said as she pulled her mask down over her face.  
"Only because you said please." She walked over to him, lifted her mask to reveal her lips and gave him a gentle kiss before leaving the room.  
  
It was 4am when Steve woke up and realized Yuna hadn't come home. "Dammit." He cursed under his breath as he changed into some clothes and braved the winter morning air.  
It took him 3 hours before he found her slumped over against the corner of a building and a dumpster, a small layer of snow covering her body.  
"No. No, no, no." He said as he ran to her side, pulling off her mask and immediately checking for a pulse.  
"Yuna, wake up. Come on, princess, wake up." He unzipped her jacket and squeezed the sides of the arc reactor. He tapped it a few times before it flickered back on.  
She fluttered her eyes open. "Hey." she said in a raspy whisper.  
"Hi." He replied, the sad expression he gave her almost broke her heart.  
She groaned and stuck her tongue out, "Yuck. Coconut."  
"Yuna." He said, with that sad little puppy dog look.  
"Oh no. I've been unmasked. My secret identity." she said sarcastically.  
"Yuna." He said slightly more annoyed.    
"You should see the other guy or rather what's left of him." she tried to smile.  
"Come on." He went to pick her up.  
"No, it's okay. I can walk." She went to stand up but couldn't get her balance and fell into is chest. She placed her hand on the front of her hip and pulled it away slightly. Her red liquid life force was still oozing out of her.  
Steve saw the blood on her hand and her injury as well. He gently picked her up.  
"This is what I was talking about last night." He said, looking around the corner.  
"I know what you're doing, Steve. I'm still in one piece. And there's noting you can say that will change my mind." She breathed. she could feel the blood escaping from her wounds and caused her to shiver in his arms.  
"Why? You're an amazing fashion designer. You could do that for the rest of your life, and be completely safe." Steve offered.  
"Do you forget that I design and make stuff for the bad guys, the good guys, and everyone else in between? You're right of course, I could do that for the rest of my life but I like what I do. I take out the bad guys ... It's kind of like doing good ... ish." Saying all 54 words just then made her lose her breath, and her head started to feel as if someone shoved a fuzzy blanket between her ears.  
"I can't keep my promise to Bucky if you willingly run into danger every chance you get."  
"That was your promise, not mine." she barely whispered. she tried to keep her eyes open but her inability to take a deep breath, the cold seeping through her clothes, and the blood she was dripping onto Steve's pants, made her falling unconscious inevitable.    
  
Steve carried her all the way to her apartment and laid her on the floor of the bathroom. He took her jacket, boots, and socks off. Then unzipped her pants and began to pull them down. Her panties had begun to slip down her thighs but he held on to the delicate material to keep it in place as he removed her pants completely. He laid her on her back to stitch up the large cut between her belly button and hip.  
"Yuna?"  
She could feel a warm hand caress the side of her face.  
"Yuna."  
A set of soft lips were pressed against her own. She took a deep breath as Steve pulled away from their kiss.  
"Open your eyes, princess."  
She obeyed his order and saw him looking down at her. He had a small smile on his face.  
She smirked at him, as she touched the side of his face with the back of her hand.  
He leaned into her touch, then took her hand into his and kissed her knuckles. "You're gonna want to shower."  
"I'll need help." she said.  
He nodded his head and got up to get the shower ready for her.  
Her mind went back to the events of the night. How could I Fuck up that bad? She knew who she was up against. How did it not go in my favor? Ian Quinn was in her sights and somehow he had disappeared again.  
“Yuna? You alright?” Steve had noticed that she was dis-focused, and wanted to make sure she didn't pass out again.  
“Yeah I’m fine. I just hate that I failed my mission last night.” She said, slowly getting up off the floor.  
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” He held his hand out to help her into the shower and she welcomed the warm water as it cascaded down her back. He let her lean against his chest, as he took off the remaining clothes that clung to her body.    
She looked up impressed that he could stay on task and not give into his lustful desires. She was impressed, but she was also incredibly annoyed. He had a beautiful naked girl between his arms. And didn't try to cop a feel anywhere. At all. Not once. She pouted her lips.  
Steve caught sight of her pouty face, “What’s wrong?” he whispered, as he cupped her face in his large hands looking for any signs of distress in her eyes.  
She shifted her eyes down and then back up to him.  
"Not while your injured." He leaned down and kissed her pouty lips away.  
He pulled away and looked down at the star shaped scar that laid over her skin and the glowing heart that was perfectly positioned in the direct middle of it.  
"That's some amazing amount of control. For a moment I thought that maybe you were asexual." She confessed.  
He smirked and looked away from her fora moment before dropping his gaze back to her eyes again, "Look down, then tell me if you still think I'm asexual."  
Yuna looked down, "Oh!" She closed her eyes and smiled embarrassingly.  
He stepped forward, placed a small kiss on her neck as he reached around her to grab the bottle of shampoo, and cleared his throat. "Let's get that blood out of your hair."  
He placed a generous amount of shampoo in his hand before lathering her long blonde.  
She bit your lip after he started massaging her scalp; the endorphins activated in her brain and her neck threatened to turn into a noodle. She began to sway and Steve wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from falling over.  
"Sorry," she whispered, curling her fingers in to the front pockets of his jeans to help keep herself upright.  
“You're fine,” He said softly as he tilted her head back so he could rinse the shampoo out.  
Yuna closed her eyes as the water washed over her face.  
He took his hands from her hair to quickly remove his shirt.  
She opened her eyes to the physique of a Norse God centimeters from her face, "That's not fair."  
He moved in close and leaned forward.  
She went on tip toes in an attempt to kiss him, but he pulled her into him and placed his chin on her head.  
"Why?!" she complained.  
“Water is getting cold.” He chuckled. Steve reached behind her to turn off the water, then turned her around to face the wall. "Stay."  
"No one puts baby in the corner." She pouted.  
Steve laughed as he piled all the wet clothes in to the sink.  
Yuna started bouncing slightly to get the excess water off her skin, but stopped when she felt the pull of the stitches on her stomach.  
"Let's get you dried off."  
She couldn’t help but bite her lip when she turned around and noticed he had his towel wrapped dangerously low on his hips.  
“Don’t.” Steve voiced, as he helped her out of the shower to gently wrap a towel around her.  
She leaned her head on the front of his shoulder. "Did you want it bite for me, then?"  
"Maybe later." He said as he began drying her off.  
"Why is it that whenever you're around, we don't get to have sex, my body is sore all over, and I end up with stitches?" She asked standing up straight and waving him away before he got to her lady bits.  
"I'm more curious why you always have guys clothes in your spare bedrooms but I never see clothes for girls." He said, that eyebrow rising condescendingly.  
"I ... have no answer for that." She said shocked by her own response. "Why don't I have a extra female clothes? It's not like I don't have girl friends. I mean, not girlfriends. Just female ... acquaintance-things." The truth was that she had plenty of friends, but she always went to their places. She was never the hostess type, so it never bothered her that people rarely came over. Unless they were mercs or double agents, but they usually brought their own clothes or she would sew up their suits before they left.  
"Where does that cute little mind keep wondering off to? I'm about to take my towel off."  
"What?" She snapped her head around, to look at Steve, which was a very bad idea as she felt the floor begin to spin under her toes.  
Steve saw her sway, and was at her side in an instant. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."  
"You know how to make it up to me, right?" She countered, standing up straight between his arms.  
"Caramel Latte?" he teased.  
"humph."  
"You look like that cute fat cat from the meme." He laughed.  
She was too tired to think up a witty comeback, so she dropped her towel and walked out of the bathroom.  
"Alright, I deserved that." He said following her into the bedroom.  
She walked over to her dressing screen and grabbed a grey hoodie before laying down on the bed. "Too tired for any other clothes."  
"At least get under the covers." He pulled her up slowly and folded down the covers so she could slide in.  
He looked down at her, and pointed to the oversized hoodie.  
She smiled as she rolled on to her side, "I may have stolen, uh borrowed really, a few things from your room at the Avengers facility." She blushed.  
"You have good taste, that's my favourite one."  
As she got comfortable, she couldn't resist from pulling the roll loose at the top of Steve's towel.  
"I knew you going to do that." He said, bending over to kiss her forehead, and picked up the towel from the floor.  
"It's only fair I get to see yours since you saw mine." she said, her voice getting raspy again.  
Steve walked back to the bathroom and hung up the towels. He lit the fireplace in her room before taking the wet clothes to the dryer.  
Yuna was slowly falling asleep when he joined her in bed, sliding his arm under her pillow to cuddle with her. He gave her a small kiss on the back of her head, "Sleep sweet, Princess." 


End file.
